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CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 
AROUND  THE  WORLD 


REV.  ROBERT  P.  ANDERSON 


Editorial  Secretary  of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 


UNITED  SOCIETY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


BOSTON  AND  CHICAGO 


Copyright  1921  by  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 


CONTENTS 


Page 

I.  Rise  and  Growth  of  Christian  Endeavor  .  .  5 

II.  Christian  Endeavor  in  the  Home  Field  .  .  6 

Christian  Endeavor  and  the  Church  ...  6 

Rural  Endeavor  ......  10 

Alaska  ........  11 

The  Philippines  ......  12 

Foreign  Work  at  Home  .....  12 

Social  and  Recreational  .....  13 

The  Evangelistic  Spirit  .....  14 

Benevolences  .......  14 

Life-Work  Recruits  ......  15 

Christian  Endeavor  Alumni  ....  15 

Union  Work  and  Citizenship  ....  16 

Juniors  and  Intermediates  ....  18 

III.  Endeavor  in  Institutions  .....  19 

College  Endeavor  ......  19 

Prison  Work  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  21 

Floating  B^ndeavor  ......  21 

Army  Endeavor  .......  22 

Fresh-Air  Homes  ......  22 

Hospital  Endeavor  ......  23 

IV.  Christian  Endeavor  in  Latin  America  ...  24 

Brazil  ........  24 

Mexico  ........  25 

Venezuela  ........  25 

Colombia  ........  25 

Bolivia  ........  26 

The  Canal  Zone  ......  26 

Gther  Countries  ......  27 

V.  Christian  Endeavor  in  Other  Lands  ...  27 

Canada . 27 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland  .....  27 

France  and  Switzerland  .....  30 

Holland  ........  30 


Spain 

Germany 

Hungary 

Poland 

Esthonia 

Latvia 

Russia 

Scandinavia 

Finland 

Palestine 

Australia  and  New  Zealand 
In  the  South  Seas 
Trinidad 
Africa 

India  .... 
Burma 

Siam  .... 
China  .... 
Japan 
Korea 


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I.  THE  RISE  AND  GROWTH  OF  CHRISTIAN 

ENDEAVOR 

The  first  society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was  formed 
by  Rev.  Francis  E.  Clark,  D.D.,  in  the  parsonage  of  Willis- 
ton  Congregational  Church,  Portland,  Me.,  on  February  2, 
1881.  It  was  organized  with  the  object  of  giving  the 
young  people  some  part  in  the  activities  of  the  church. 
Two  distinctive  features  of  the  new  society  were  a  pledge 
to  be  signed  by  active  members  and  a  committee  system 
which  placed  definite  responsibility  on  their  shoulders. 

A  few  months  later  an  article  written  by  Dr.  Clark  ap¬ 
peared  in  The  Congregationalist  telling  of  the  experiment 
in  Williston  Church.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
second  society,  that  in  the  Congregational  Church  in  New- 
buryport.  Mass.  Other  societies  were  organized,  and  on 
June  2,  1882,  six  societies  met  in  Portland  for  the  first 
Christian  Endeavor  conference.  In  1883  a  pastor  in 
Honolulu,  Hawaii,  organized  a  society.  In  1885  a  group 
was  organized  in  Foochow,  China,  by  a  missionary  who 
had  learned  the  facts  about  the  society  while  home  on  fur¬ 
lough.  From  that  day  to  this  societies  have  sprung  up  in 
every  corner  of  the  globe  until  there  are  now  more  than 
70,000  societies  in  the  world,  thousands  of  them  in  mis¬ 
sionary  countries. 

The  first  Christian  Endeavor  conferences  were  national 
in  their  scope  and  the  first  group-organization  formed 
was  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  a  national 
organization,  which  was  launched  at  Old  Orchard,  Me.,  in 
1885. 

In  November  of  that  year,  however,  the  Endeavorers  of 
Connecticut  formed  the  first  State  Christian  Endeavor 
union,  and  a  few  months  later,  in  January,  1886,  a  Con¬ 
necticut  city.  New  Haven,  organized  the  first  local  union 
in  this  country. 

The  first  national  conventions  were  annual  affairs. 
When  the  third  convention  was  held  at  Lowell,  Mass.,  in 
1884,  156  societies  reported  with  6,414  members.  From 
this  time  the  numbers  attending  the  conventions  grew  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  In  1887  two  thousand  Endeavorers 
attended  the  convention;  in  1888  five  thousand  attended; 
in  1889,  six  thousand  five  hundred  were  present;  in  1890 
more  than  eight  thousand  were  there.  It  was  considered 
— and  truly — phenomenal  when  a  convention  in  New  York 
brought  together  35,000  delegates;  but  this  was  exceeded 


5 


6 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


by  the  convention  in  Boston  in  1895  when  50,000  crowded 
into  the  city.  Christian  Endeavor  was  the  first  national 
organization  to  stage  great  conventions.  It  blazed  an  en¬ 
tirely  new  path  in  this  respect.* 

II.  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  THE  HOME  FIELD 

The  material  presented  in  these  pages  is  taken  from 
reports  of  current  activities  of  societies  and  unions.  No 
attempt  is  made  to  cover  the  entire  field  or  to  tell  the 
whole  story  of  what  Christian  Endeavor  is  doing  to-day. 
From  what  is  here  recorded,  however,  it  should  be  evident 
that  the  organization  is  anything  but  dormant,  and  that 
while  it  is  true  that  the  society  is  a  training-school  for 
future  church  workers,  the  things  that  the  young  people 
are  doing  are  in  themselves  really  worth  while.  In  all 
Christian  Endeavor  work  there  is  service-value  as  well  as 
training-value.  It  means  something  to  the  church  that  a 
large  number  or  its  members  flow  into  it  through  the 
Christian  Endeavor  society  where  thev  have  been  chal¬ 
lenged  by  high  tasks  and  taught  to  think  through  prob¬ 
lems  of  Christian  work.  Christian  Endeavor  adds  to  en¬ 
thusiasm  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  the  will  to  help. 
The  society  develops  initiative,  broadens  sympathy,  and 
creates  interest  in  the  larger  aspects  of  the  kingdom  of 
God. 


Christian  Endeavor  and  the  Church 

At  Centreville,  Mass.,  not  many  miles  from  Boston, 
there  stands  a  Christian  Endeavor  church  which  has  a 
remarkable  history.  Thirty  years  ago  a  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  society  was  organized  at  this  place  in  a  “cast-off 
schoolhouse.”  The  society  has  always  been  active  and  is 
so  still;  its  eighty-five  members  do  a  great  amount  of 
work.  This  society  has  bought  a  lot  and  on  it  erected  a 
church,  paying  the  bills. 

Every  member  of  the  society  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Florence,  Wis.,  attends  Sunday-evening  service, 
and  many  attend  the  morning  service  as  well.  The  young 
people  have  organized  a  Junior  choir  of  twenty-two  voices, 
which  renders  music  at  the  evening  church  services.  The 
Endeavorers  created  a  stir  when  they  challenged  the 
married  people  in  the  church  to  a  church-attendance  con¬ 
test  with  the  unmarried — the  unmarried  lower  age  limit 
being  set  at  twelve  years.  And  the  unmarried  group  won. 

In  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  there  is  a  society  which  suggests 

*For  the  story  of  the  spread  of  Christian  Endeavor  to  foreign  lands, 
and  the  rise  within  the  movement  of  various  organizations,  see  “Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  History  Told  in  Brief,”  published  by  the  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  Boston,  Mass.,  at  fifteen  cents. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


7 


topics  that  the  members  would  like  to  hear  dealt  with  by 
the  pastor  in  his  sermons.  The  pastor  is  glad  to  take 
up  those  that  have  general  interest,  sure  that  he  is  in 
touch  with  the  interest  of  many  in  his  congregation. 

One  Maryland  society  gave  $30  to  help  the  church  to 
buy  a  rotary  neostyle  in  order  to  issue  a  church  bulletin. 
The  society  not  only  prints  the  bulletin  each  week,  but 
also  edits  it.  The  trustees  of  the  church  have  laid  upon 
the  Endeavorers  the  task  of  raising  $7,000  for  a  parsonage 
to  adjoin  the  church. 

Another  Maryland  society  arranged  for  a  week’s  evan¬ 
gelistic  meetings  in  the  church,  the  society  furnishing 
music,  orchestra,  and  workers. 


AN  ITALIAN  SETTLEMENT  HOUSE  IN  SCHENECTADY,  N.  Y. 
Started  and  Conducted  Mainly  by  Endeavorers. 


The  Sunnyside  Congregational  society  and  church  in 
Portland,  Or.,  are  like  hand  and  glove,  and  the  society 
is  a  splendid  demonstration  of  what  a  church  may  do  to 
develop  leadership  by^  sympathetic  interest  and  co-opera¬ 
tion.  Out  of  this  society  have  come  three  county-union 
presidents  who  all  became  presidents  of  the  State  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  union.  The  present  State  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  secretary  is  the  third  State  secretary  to  come  from 
this  society.  One^  member  is  a  missionary  in  China,  an¬ 
other  is  in  Palestine,  and  another  has  served  a  term  in 
Africa,  and  will  soon  return  to  the  Dark  Continent.  Two 
of  the  society’s  young  men  are  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries, 
and  a  young  women,  as  we  write,  is  in  training  in  the  East 
for  religious  educational  work. 


8 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


A  soul-winning  service  flag  is  the  idea  of  a  fine  society 
:n  Minneapolis,  Minn.  Each  star  on  the  flag  stands  for  a 
soul  won  for  Christ  by  the  efforts  of  some  member  of  the 
society.  In  the  first  three  months  of  1921  sixty-four  stars 
were  added  to  this  flag.  The  budget  of  this  society,  the 
First  Baptist  society,  is  $1,800  for  the  current  year,  and 
bhis  makes  an  average  of  more  than  $6  a  member.  Last 
5rear  the  society  raised  $1,500  for  missions,  the  total 
budget  being  $2,303. 

Here  is  one  w;ay  in  which  Christian  Endeavor  and  the 
influence  of  the  society  spread.  A  Texas  Endeavorer 
moved  to  a  Wyoming  town  of  about  five  hundred  inhabi¬ 
tants.  There  was  no  church  in  the  town,  and  no  preach¬ 
ing,  nothing  but  a  Sunday  school  that  held  meetings  Sun¬ 
day  mornings.  This  Endeavorer  started  a  society  with 
thirteen  members,  and  it  grew  in  a  month  to  thirty.  The 
society  immediately  began  to  plan  and  put  into  operation 
real  social  service  for  the  community. 

In  no  section  of  the  country  has  Christian  Endeavor 
had  greater  success  in  the  past  few  years  than  in  the 
South.  In  Monroe,  La.,  for  instance,  a  city  of  15,000  in¬ 
habitants,  twelve  months  ago,  as  we  write,  there  was  not 
a  single  society.  Came  a  new  pastor  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  one  of  his  first  efforts  was  to  organize  a 
Christian  Endeavor  society.  Young  people  began  to  flock 
CO  his  church.  The  society  grew  so  large  that  it  became 
necessary  to  form  a  Junior  society  to  take  care  of  the 
younger  children.  When  last  we  heard  of  it,  the  Junior 
society  had  thirty  members,  and  the  Senior  108.  The  so¬ 
ciety  has  a  dramatic  club  and  a  baseball  team  to  do 
something  for  the  recreational  life  of  the  young  people. 

Taking  note  of  the  need  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Northampton,  Mass.,  for  a  stereopticon,  the  Endeavorers 
bought  one  and  presented  it  to  the  church  for  use  by  all 
church  organizations.  A  bulletin  board  was  also  needed, 
ind  this  the  Endeavorers  likewise  determined  to  supply. 
To  get  the  money  they  arranged  a  four-week  contest 
between  the  boys  and  girls  to  see  which  side  could  raise 
most  money.  The  workers  brought  in  more  than  $70, 
which  was  more  than  they  needed  for  the  purpose  they 
had  in  view. 

Probably  few  persons  have  ever  heard  of  Ft.  Bidwell. 
It  is  a  little  community  in  the  far  northeast  corner  of 
California,  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  centre,  and  many  miles  from  railroad  or  highway. 
It  is  an  Indian  Reservation,  and  a  number  of  while  settlers 
live  near  by.  Church  work  has  never  flourished  in  this 
place,  and  in  the  past  few  years  has  been  quite  abandoned. 

Into  this  community  there  moved  a  Christian  Endeavor 
girl  from  the  little  Congregational  Church  of  Adin;  Rhoda 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


9 


Steele  is  her  name.  She  started  a  Christian  Endeavor 
society  which  in  a  few  months  grew  to  eighty-five  mem¬ 
bers.  Miss  Steele,  who  is  a  school  teacher,  also  organ¬ 
ized  a  Sunday  school,  and  perhaps  before  this  comes  from 
the  press  Ft.  Bidwell  may  have  regular  preaching. 


A  PRISON  SOCIETY 

IN  THE  FRANKFORT,  KY.,  REFORMATORY 


One  church  gave  a  teen-age  demonstration.  Twenty- 
five  Intermediates  took  their  places  in  the  choir  loft  and 
the  Juniors  sat  in  front.  The  entire  service  was  conducted 
by  the  teen-age  boys  and  girls,  even  to  the  speaking, 
which  half  a  dozen  took  care  of.  It  was  a  remarkable 
demonstration,  showing  the  possibilities  of  the  Intermedi¬ 
ate  age  under  sympathetic  leadership. 

The  South  Boston  Endeavorers  served  their  churches 
in  a  Lenten  revival  by  distributing  5,000  handbills  every 
week,  by  forming  a  choir,  and  attending  and  taking  part 
in  the  meetings. 

^  Many  societies  are  conducting  the  mid-week  prayer  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  church. 

It  was  a  Duluth,  Minn.,  society  that  planted  an  acre  of 
potatoes  to  help  to  pay  the  society’s  pledge  of  $100  toward 
the  church’s  building  fund. 

The  only  religious  services  held  in  Purdy,  Va.,  on  Sun¬ 
day  evenings  are  conducted  by  the  Christian  Endeavor 
society,  which  has  paid  a  debt  of  $600  on  the  chapel  in 
which  it  holds  its  meetings. 

Sapulpa,  Okla.,  Christian  society  has  a  fund  which  is 
used  to  help  members  of  the  society  who  are  working 
their  way  through  college  to  take  up  some  Christian  life- 
work.  One  of  the  members  of  this  society  is  in  Para¬ 
guay,  and  three  others  are  in  training  school. 


10 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Gospel  teams  are  common  in  societies.  They  hold  cot¬ 
tage  and  open-air  meetings. 

Some  societies  collect  magazines  and  send  them  to  fire- 
engine  houses,  old  people’s  homes,  and  to  shut-ins. 

A  Brooklyn  society  has  a  vacation  club  whose  members 
enjoy  a  two-weeks  vacation  in  the  summer. 

A  Kansas  society  has  paid  for  linoleum  for  the  parson¬ 
age,  has  given  $25  toward  church  expenses,  and  $20  to  the 
building  fund,  besides  sending  many  gifts  of  fruit  and 
home-made  delicacies  to  sick  persons. 

A  society  in  the  South  held  a  class  in  Expert  Endeavor, 
the  class  meeting  in  the  home  of  a  member  and  going 
in  a  body  after  supper  to  the  regular  meeting  of  the  so¬ 
ciety.  Some  of  these  Endeavorers  who  are  farmers  have 
planted  one-tenth  of  their  acreage  for  the  Lord’s  work. 

The  Endeavorers  of  Wise  County,  Va.,  have  presented 
to  their  acting  field-secretary  an  automobile  which  enables 
her  to  reach  out-of-the-way  places. 

A  Colorado  Springs  society  tried  a  stewardship  contest. 
To  every  member  was  given  fifty  cents  and  all  were  told 
to  trade  with  the  money  and  in  six  weeks  bring  back 
capital  and  profit  to  the  society.  The  society  was  divided 
into  two  sides  for  this  contest.  The  result  was  that  the 
members  turned  $119.50  into  the  treasury. 


Rural  Endeavor 

Christian  Endeavor  is  so  elastic  and  so  adaptable  to  all 
sorts  of  conditions  that  there  is  no  religious  organization 
so  well  suited  to  the  needs  of  young  people  in  rural  com¬ 
munities.  Where  the  society  has  the  fostering  care  of  a 
pastor  who  realizes  his  opportunities,  it  thrives  and  be¬ 
comes  a  blessing  to  the  whole  district;  but  where  it  is 
neglected,  unless  special  leadership  has  been  developed 
among  the  young  people  themselves,  it  often  fades  and 
dies. 

Rev.  Edmund  de  S.  Brunner  tells  of  a  country  pastor 
who  drove  out  of  his  yard  Sunday  morning  at  the  very 
time  when  forty  young  people  were  gathering  for  their 
Christian  Endeavor  service  in  his  church.  The  pastor,  on 
this  occasion,  was  on  his  way  to  a  preaching-point  ten 
miles  distant,  a  town  of  eight  churches,  to  preach  to  a  con¬ 
gregation  of  fourteen  souls,  while  in  his  own  yard  forty 
enthusiastic  young  people  were  eager  and  hungry  for 
seiwice! 

“A  study  has  been  made  of  rural  conditions,”  says  Mr. 
Brunner,  “which  shows  that  seventy-eight  percent  of  the 
membership  of  country  societies,  in  spite  of  bad  roads 
and  other  handicaps,  attend  meetings,  while  in  town  the 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


11 


attendance  is  only  sixty-two  per  cent,  and  in  the  village 
sixty-five  percent.” 

Town  societies  could  do  no  greater  service  in  rural  com¬ 
munities  than  to  train  leaders  who  could  take  care  of 
work  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor. 

The  young  people  of  one  rural  church  met  in  a  class 
to  study  rural  problems.  Their  text-book  opened  up  for 
them  new  avenues  of  service.  They  formed  a  Christian 
Endeavor  society  and  shared  in  the  rejuvenation  of  their 
church. 

In  another  church,  the  young  people  used  to  meet  week¬ 
ly  at  dilferent  homes  for  a  sing.  As  the  spirit  of  service 
grew  among  them,  they  begun  to  select  the  homes  of  aged 
and  sick  persons  for  their  meetings,  and  the  sing  became 
a  blessing  and  greatly  looked  forward  to. 

A  Missouri  rural  society  showed  little  interest  until 
one  of  the  members  met  with  a  severe  accident.  Then 
one  of  the  girls  came  to  the  president  and  said  that  they 
wanted  to  buy  a  chair  and  crutches  for  “Zellie,”  and  that 
they  were  going  to  take  turns  reading  to  her.  “When  we 
were  talking  about  her,”  she  said,  “I  remembered  old  Mrs. 
Snow  and  Mrs.  Smith.  I  bet  they  would  like  to  have  us 
run  in  sometimes  with  something  nice  to  eat  or  a  book  or 
a  game.”  And  so  this  society  found  a  new  sphere  of 
usefulness. 

Societies  are  beginning  to  do  things  like  these.  They 
have  sings,  form  dramatic  clubs,  give  leaders  to  the  Boy 
Scouts  and  the  Girl  Scouts.  In  more  than  one  instance, 
the  society  has  set  up  and  carried  out  a  recreation  pro¬ 
gramme,  often  holding  fairs,  organizing  community 
Christmas  trees,  and  setting  up  leadership  for  play¬ 
grounds  and  clubs  of  all  kinds. 

Alaska 

Endeavor  is  not  a  new  movement  in  Alaska.  For  many 
years  there  has  been  a  Christian  Endeavor  society  at 
Point  Barrow,  the  northernmost  settlement  in  the  world. 
The  members  of  this  society  are  Eskimos.  Some  of  them 
have  helped  to  translate  the  Scriptures  for  their  own 
people. 

At  Valdes,  in  the  copper  region,  five  Endeavorers  or¬ 
ganized  a  society  which  met  in  a  tent  on  the  beach. 
When  this  tent  became  too  small  for  the  numbers  that 
canie,  they  moved  to  a  larger  tent.  Then  they  built  a  log 
cabi",  which  was  the  only  house  of  worship  in  Valdes. 
They  started  a  Sunday  school  and  opened  a  reading-room. 
By  and  by  they  organized  a  church,  a  real  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  church.  Half  way  across  the  twenty-five  mile 
glacier  near  Valdes  they  erected  a  relief  hut,  for  many 


12 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


gold  miners  had  lost  their  lives  on  that  trail.  In  the 
hut  they  placed  food,  fuel,  and  sleeping-bags.  It  meant 
thirty-four  days’  work  to  pack  the  material  to  the  station, 
but  many  thanked  God  for  the  succor  they  found  there. 

Not  long  ago  a  British  Endeavorer  left  to  be  a  mission¬ 
ary  in  Alaska,  one  of  the  hardest  fields  in  the  world. 
No  doubt  he  will  be  able  to  start  societies  in  due  time. 


The  Philippines 

The  societies  in  the  Philippines  are  widely  scattered  and 
are  often  separated  by  ocean  channels,  which  make  con¬ 
ventions  difficult.  But  the  Endeavorers  are  doing  good 
work  for  all  that.  Their  spirit  may  be  seen  from  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  the  society  in  the  Silliman  Institute,  one  of  the 
large  educational  institutions  under  the  care  of  the  Pres¬ 
byterians.  This  society  challenged  the  Sunday  school  to 
assist  in  purchasing  a  new  organ  for  the  Dumaguete 
church.  The  challenge  stirred  up  the  Sunday  school  so 
that  ‘fit  looked  as  if  the  Sunday  school  would  do  the  whole 
thing  itself.” 


Foreign  Work  at  Home 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  many  Christian  Endeavor 
societies  are  at  work  among  foreign-speaking  peoples  in 
our  own  country.  In  Fresno,  Cal.,  there  is  a  strong 
union  of  Armenian  societies,  which  not  only  do  splendid 
work  among  their  own  folks,  but  issue  a  paper  in  Ar¬ 
menian — The  Endeavorer — the  only  Armenian  religious 
paper,  we  believe,  in  that  part  of  the  country.  This  work 
is  not  an  ephemeral  growth.  The  Armenian  Presbyter¬ 
ian  society  of  Fresno  is  a  quarter  of  a  century  old  and 
others  are  well  on  in  their  teens. 

In  the  Finnish  churches  of  Massachusetts,  there  are 
many  Christian  Endeavor  societies  and  these  have  formed 
a  Finnish  Christian  Endeavor  Union  which  employs  a 
Finnish  field-secretary.  These  young  people  are  hearty 
supporters  of  missions  and  have  sent  gifts  to  their  own 
people  in  Finland. 

There  is  a  Spanish-speaking  society  in  New  York  which 
had  a  fine  group  of  delegates  at  the  World’s  Convention. 
On  the  borders  of  Mexico,  also,  there  are  Spanish-speak¬ 
ing  societies.  There  are  societies  whose  members  are 
Bohemian  and  these  young  people  in  some  instances  sup¬ 
port  a  social  religious  worker  or  Bible  woman  who  visits 
in  the  homes  of  their  people.  There  is  a  union  in  the  East 
called  the  German  Atlantic  Christian  Endeavor  District 
Union  which  holds  annual  conventions. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


13 


Almost  as  interesting  as  these  foreign-speaking  soci¬ 
eties  are  those  whose  membership  is  cosmopolitan.  The 
Golden  Gate  Union  draws  its  membership  from  half  a 
score  of  races. 


Social  and  Recreational 

In  Christian  Endeavor  societies  social  activities  are 
legion,  the  society  socials  forming,  of  course,  the  largest 
part,  and  supplying  a  splendid  substitute  for  the  dance- 
hall,  the  pool-room  and  the  movie.  We  have  space  merely 
to  name  a  few. 


FLOATING  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR. 

A  Society  Visiting  a  Ship  and  Holding  a  Meeting. 

New  York  Endeavorers  have  formed  a  club,  the  mem¬ 
bership  of  which  consists  of  those  who  have  attended  a 
county,  State,  or  national  convention.  The  club  is  di¬ 
vided  into  chapters,  each  meeting  as  often  as  it  desires 
A  cottage  in  the  woods  has  been  rented  by  the  club,  and 
there  Endeavorers,  at  a  nominal  charge,  may  spend  their 
vacations. 

Connecticut  Endeavorers  have  a  club  whose  member¬ 
ship  is  confined  to  those  that  have  attended  national  con¬ 
ventions.  This  club  holds  an  annual  field  day. 

The  First  Presbyterian  society  of  Norman,  Okla.,  a 
university  town,  keeps  open  house  every  Saturday  evening 
the  year  round,  except  during  August,  and  invites  the 
students  especially  to  this  social  hour.  Between  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  two  hundred  come  every  week.  The  first  part 
of  the  evening  is  spent  in  playing  games,  and  this  is  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  social  sing  and  refreshments. 


14 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


A  Negro  society  in  Chicago  gave  a  pageant  of  the 
League  of  Nations  and  cleared  $326.75  toward  the  society 
funds.  Many  societies  give  pageants,  although  the  re¬ 
sults  are  not  always  so  satisfactory  as  the  above. 

The  Portland,  Or.,  union  got  up  a  concert  to  raise 
funds  to  pay  the  expenses  of  delegates  to  the  World’s 
Convention  in  New  York  City.  A  Kansas  society  earned 
a  goodly  sum  by  selling  popcorn  and  getting  up  a  play. 

A  Connecticut  society  presented  a  musical  comedy  in 
the  Grange  Hall.  A  Minnesota  society  has  an  athletic 
club  which  plays  many  matches,  sings  at  farmers’  club- 
meetings  and  societies  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town.  In 
Detroit  there  are  nineteen  Intermediate  societies,  and  they 
have  more  than  a  dozen  basket-ball  teams  which  have 
formed  a  strong  league.  They  have  had  a  tournament 
with  nine  boys’  and  six  girls’  teams  competing. 

The  societies  have  picnics  and  hikes,  and  we  hear  of 
bluebird  socials,  vacation  clubs,  orchestras,  and  other 
forms  of  social  activities. 


The  Evangelistic  Spirit 

Christian  Endeavor,  born  in  a  revival,  has  remained 
throughout  the  years  evangelistic  in  spirit.  Endeavorers 
are  ever  the  active  workers  in  special  revival  meetings 
held  in  their  churches.  They  assist  in  campaigns  like 
those  of  Billy  Sunday.  The  Georgia  union,  in  a  great 
effort,  won  352  young  people  to  Christ  and  filled  8,307 
empty  seats  in  their  churches.  In  one  year,  one  society 
distributed  60,000  tracts,  gospels,  and  Bibles,  and  many 
societies  and  unions  have  taken  part  in  assisting  the 
Gideons  in  placing  Bibles  in  hotels.  In  one  city,  the  En¬ 
deavorers  advertised  Lenten  revival  services  by  distrib¬ 
uting  five  thousand  handbills  a  week. 

Hundreds  of  Endeavorers  sign  pledges  every  year  to 
become  personal  evangelistic  workers. 

Muskogee,  Okla.,  Endeavorers  assisted  the  tract  society  to 
erect  large  sign-boards  on  which  were  printed  Scripture 
texts.  Not  a  few  unions  find  an  opening  for  their  evan¬ 
gelistic  endeavor  in  city  missions,  which  the  societies 
take  turns  in  visiting,  and  where  they  furnish  music. 


Benevolences 

No  record  can  be  given  of  the  amount  that  Endeavorers 
give  in  benevolences.  The  sums  devoted  to  missions  alone 
run  into  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  each  year,  and 
much  money  is  given  to  causes  outside  the  societies’  own 
work.  Numberless  societies  responded  to  the  call  of  Ar¬ 
menian  and  Syrian  and  Chinese  relief  and  similar  causes; 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


15 


and  thousands  of  dollars  are  given  to  fresh-air  work.  At 
Christmas  many  societies  bring  white  gifts  for  needy 
children.  Thanksgiving  sees  a  host  of  Endeavorers  carry¬ 
ing  dinners  to  the  poor.  Nor  are  the  men  of  the  sea  for¬ 
gotten,  for  many  thousands  of  comfort-bags  are  made 
for  them.  Boxes  of  toys  were  sent  from  the  Endeavorers 
of  St.  Paul  to  a  mountain  school  in  Kentucky;  $84  was 
secured  for  the  general  work  by  means  of  a  sale  of  Christ¬ 
mas  cards.  Gifts  for  orphanages  are  given.  Missouri 
societies  have  adopted  a  boy  from  an  orphanage  and  will 
give  $150  a  year  toward  his  support  and  education.  One 
society  cleared  $95  toward  the  Chinese  famine  fund  by 
means  of  a  pie  social.  Some  London  Endeavorers  took 
gifts  of  potatoes,  flour,  and  fruits  to  a  poor  family.  These 
are,  of  course,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  helpful  things 
done  by  societies. 


Life-Work  Recruits 

Life-Work  Recruits  in  Christian  Endeavor  are  those 
Endeavorers  who  have  promised  so  to  shape  their  lives 
and  their  education  that  they  may  give  their  whole  time 
to  Christian  service  if  the  way  be  opened  for  them.  Al¬ 
ready  several  thousand  Recruits  have  registered  with  the 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor.  A  book  has  been 
published  by  the  United  Society,  “Religious  Vocations,” 
by  Frank  Lowe,  Jr.,  giving  a  careful  survey  of  the  field  of 
salaried  Christian  service,  and  societies  have  already  be¬ 
gun  to  use  this  book  as  a  text-book  for  the  study  of  the 
subject. 

In  some  unions  Life-Work  Recruit  bands  have  been 
formed,  the  members  of  which  meet  for  conference  and 
prayer  and  the  exchange  of  experiences.  A  goodly  num¬ 
ber  of  Christian  Endeavor  Life-Work  Recruits,  although 
the  movement  is  comparatively  new,  are  already  engaged 
in  salaried  work.  Some  are  on  the  home-mission  field; 
some  are  in  foreign  lands;  some  are  now  Christian  min¬ 
isters;  some  are  in  social  service;  some  are  pastors’ 
helpers,  or  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  secretaries.  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  has  always  inspired  young  people  to  do 
Christian  work  and  this  new  Recruit  covenant-plan  is 
bringing  better  results  than  ever. 


Christian  Endeavor  Alumni 

As  we  write,  more  than  two  hundred  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  Alumni  Fellowships  have  been  formed.  The  mem¬ 
bers  are  former  Endeavorers,  officers  of  unions,  and 
friends  of  Endeavor.  The  Fellowship  meets  at  least  once 
a  year,  and  its  members  try,  as  far  as  possible,  to  help 


16 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


and  encourage  the  new  generation  of  Endeavorers.  They 
have  also  an  opportunity  of  assisting  the  world-wide  work 
of  Christian  Endeavor  by  making  an  annual  contribution 
to  it. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  Warren  G.  Harding, 
President  of  the  United  States,  has  been  received  as  hon¬ 
orary  member  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Alumni.  Mr. 
Christian,  President  Harding’s  secretary,  Charles  Evans 
Hughes,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Will  Hays,  Postmaster- 
General,  who  at  one  time  was  an  officer  in  a  Christian 
Endeavor  union,  have  all  become  honorary  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  Alumni. 

Many  churches  have  Alumni  Councils  whose  members 
stand  back  of  the  young  people  of  the  church  and  aid  them 
in  various  ways. 

A  full  description  of  the  Alumni  Fellowship  as  it  exists 
in  unions,  and  the  Alumni  Council  as  it  exists  in  churches, 
will  be  sent  upon  application  to  the  Alumni  Superintend¬ 
ent,  41  Mt.  Vernon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  movement  has  spread  to  England  and  Scotland,  and 
fellowships  are  now  being  formed  there. 

Union  Work  and  Citizenship 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  for  State  unions  to  em¬ 
ploy  field-secretaries.  As  we  write,  there  are  now  about 
twenty-five  in  the  field.  The  unions  enable  the  young 
people  not  only  to  do  a  great  deal  of  local  work  which 
otherwise  they  might  not  think  of  doing,  but  also  to  unite 
the  Christian  Endeavor  forces  for  larger  tasks.  Not  the 
least  beneficial  thing  that  the  unions  accomplish  is  to 
bring  about  larger  denominational  fellowship. 

•  Fresh-air  work  is  a  fine  example  of  co-operative  union 
work.  Essex  County  Union,  N.  J.,  conducts  a  Fresh-air 
home  each  summer  in  which  more  than  twelve  hundred 
children  and  mothers  from  the  slums  get  each  a  two  weeks’ 
vacation.  Brooklyn  union  has  a  camp  on  Long  Island 
which  does  the  same  service  for  a  smaller  number.  Bal¬ 
timore  union  has  no  home  of  its  own,  but  most  generously 
supports  the  fresh-air  work  of  another  organization,  and 
this  is  true  of  other  unions  as  well. 

Besides  promoting  in  the  societies  the  full  programme 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  our  unions  organize  study-classes 
in  missions — the  Ohio  union  recently  organized  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  of  these  classes  in  one  season — ^in  Expert 
Endeavor,  in  denominational  history,  and  in  religious  vo¬ 
cations.  Hamilton  County,  0.,  has  started  a  Life-Work 
Recruit  fund  to  help  Recruits  through  college. 

A  union  in  the  South  co-operates  with  the  Travellers’ 
Aid  Association  in  welcoming  strangers  to  the  city  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


17 


seeking-  to  put  them  in  touch  with  a  church  home.  The 
Florida  union,  as  we  write,  is  collecting  funds  to  erect  a 
Christian  Endeavor  chapel  on  the  campus  of  the  Mont- 
verde  Industrial  school,  which  has  three  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  societies,  with  about  three  hundred  members. 

At  the  last  Arizona  State  convention,  sixty  Indians, 
many  of  them  college  graduates,  were  present.  They 
came  from  the  Sacaton  Presbyterian  society. 

Union  flying  squadrons  are  of  great  assistance  by 
means  of  their  visits  to  societies. 

Without  unions,  Christian  Endeavor  summer  institutes 
would  be  impossible.  The  oldest  of  these  institutes  is 
that  held  by  the  Maine  union.  Massachusetts  has  a  splen¬ 
did  institute  at  Northfield.  Ohio  has  one  at  Summerland 
Beach.  Oregon  and  California  have  also  fine  gatherings, 
and  in  the  past  year,  one  or  two-day  institutes  have  be¬ 
come  common,  especially  in  the  South. 

Union  work  on  a  large  scale  has  been  done  in  the  South 
where  the  All-South  Committee  unifies  the  activity  of 
half  a  score  of  States.  There  are  similar  organizations  in 
the  Southwest  and  West. 

Unions  organize  gifts  for  the  poor  at  Thanksgiving, 
Christmas,  and  other  seasons.  Easter  sunrise  meetings 
are  a  popular  feature.  The  organization  of  Junior  and 
Intermediate  societies  is  taking  a  large  place  in  the  pro- 


A  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  SOCIETY  IN  SALVADOR. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


18 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


gTamme  of  union  work.  Some  unions  support  native  work¬ 
ers  i  mission  lands,  a^d  one  Massachusetts  union  has 
undertaken  to  supply  magazines  and  gramophone  records 
zo  sixteen  life-saving  stations  on  the  coast  of  that  State. 

Our  unions  hold  thousands  of  rallies  and  conventionettes 
3very  year,  and  provide  training  for  a  large  staff  of 
officers.  Some  of  these  unions  contain  hundreds  of  soci¬ 
eties  and  the  registration  at  rallies  easily  runs  into 
thousards.  New  York  City  union  almost  entirely  finances 
its  work  from  the  profits  of  an  annual  boat-ride  on  the 
Hudson.  Other  unions  also  make  a  feature  of  boat-rides, 
and  banquets,  of  course,  are  both  common  and  popular. 
Union  pagea'ts  and  entertainments  are  sometimes 
weighty  affairs.  One  union  turned  1,200  persons  away 
ifter  the  hall  was  packed  and  had  to  repeat  its  enter¬ 
tainment.  The  two  meetings  netted  a  profit  of  $900. 

Negro  unions  are  not  one  whit  behind  the  work  of 
white  unions.  There  is  one  Negro  union  is  Washington, 
D.  C.,  with  thirty  societies,  which  puts  across  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  programme  every  year.  One  union  raised  $150  to 
provide  playthings  and  equipment  for  an  orphanage,  and 
another  union  started  an  endowment  fund  of  $500  for  the 
3ame  institution. 

In  Schenectady  the  Endeavorers  have  taken  an  im¬ 
portant  part  in  work  for  Italian's,  and  support  a  social- 
service  house  in  the  Italian  district  at  a  cost  of  at  least 
$1,000  a  year. 

The  action  of  the  Clarksburg,  W.  Va.,  Endeavorers  is 
typical.  They  signed  a  petition  calling  upon  the  sheriff 
of  the  county  and  the  prosecuting  attorney  to  take  action 
against  amusements  at  a  nearby  amusement  park  that 
were  being  run  on  Su'day  in  violation  of  the  law. 

There  is  a  society  in  Oviedo,  Fla.,  that  has  raised  enough 
money  to  make  a  public  park  with  seats,  tennis  court, 
swings,  croquet  grounds,  and  other  things. 


Juniors  and  Intermediates 

The  number  of  JuUor  and  Intermediate  societies  is 
increasi-'g.  A  feature  of  the  United  Society’s  programme 
is  graded  Endeavo’%  which  includes  the  organization  of 
such  societies.  Among  Junior  societies  memory  work  is 
popular.  A  favorite  method  is  to  me^rorize  the  String  of 
Pearls,  which  consists  of  certain  Bible  passages,  each 
passage  or  text  pri  ted  on  a  cardboard  symboh  simh  as  a 
cross,  a  leaf,  and  so  on,  the  symbols  being  strung  on  a  col¬ 
ored  ribbon,  thus  f o:  ming  a  String  of  Pearls  when  tney 
are  all  learned. 

Bible  alphabets,  Bible  promises,  and  Bible  gems  are  a 
few  of  the  memory-tasks  that  are  set  for  Juniors,  and 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


19 


all  kinds  of  sunshine  work  is  done.  Mission-study  classes 
are  conducted  and  the  Juniors  make  scrap-books,  dolls, 
and  other  articles  for  missions. 

One  society  is  taking  a  three -year  course  of  Bible  study; 
another  sent  fifty  copies  of  the  New  Testament  to  a  con¬ 
vict  camp.  Juniors  put  on  pageants  and  entertainments, 
they  take  care  of  the  lawn  of  the  church,  and  an  i  creas- 
ingly  popular  feature  at  State  conventions  is  the  Junior 
convention  which  is  conducted  largely  by  the  Juniors 
themselves. 

A  great  deal  of  the  work  done  by  Intermediate  soci¬ 
eties  is  the  same  as  that  done  by  Senior  societies,  so  that 
to  record  it  would  mean  needless  repetition.  Oratorical 
contests  are  popular,  and  Intermediates  enjoy  advertising 
competitions  and  the  making  of  posters.  The  Inter  medi¬ 
ate  convention  is  becoming  as  popular  as  the  Junior  con¬ 
vention  and  will  surely  win  a  place  in  our  great  State 
gatherings. 


HI.  ENDEAVOR  IN  INSTITUTIONS 
College  Endeavor 

For  some  years  there  has  been  a  strong  movement  on 
the  part  of  many  colleges  to  organize  Christian  Endeavor 
societies  and  make  Christian  Endeavor  work  an  essential 
part  of  the  training  of  their  students.  Some  colleges  have 
even  put  Christian  Endeavor  into  their  curriculum.  The 
result  will  be  that  school  teachers  and  others  who  have 
passed  through  a  college  society  will  know  how  to  organ¬ 
ize  young  people  wherever  their  lot  in  life  may  be  cast, 
and  thus  pass  on  the  help  they  themselves  have  enjoyed. 

North  Carolina  claims  more  than  eight  hundred  En- 
deavoiers  in  colleges  within  her  bo  ders.  The  largest  so¬ 
ciety  in  the  State  is  the  o  e  at  Guilford  College,  which  has 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  members.  In  Elon  College 
three  hundred  ai  d  thirty  of  the  four  hundred  students  are 
enrolled  in  the  society.  Atlantic  Christian  College  has  two 
societies  witn  a  membership  of  fitty.  There  is  a  society 
at  Catawba  College,  Newton,  N.  C.,  with  thirty-five 
members;  one  at  Elsie  Scnool  with  t  urty-five  memb^rrs; 
ard  one  at  Sunderland  Hall,  a  girls’  school,  with  some 
seventy-five  men^bers.  If  we  stated  the  membershin  of 
the  society  at  Montreat  it  would  be  outgrown  before 
tnis  book  is  printed.  All  these  soceities  are  doi  g  sp.en- 
did  work.  Davidson  College  socletv  recently  enterfnined 
a  dist .  ict  co  vent  on. 

There  is  a  fi  e  society  in  Ashland  College,  Ashland,  O., 
which  meets  in  the  college  chapel.  The  president  of  this 
college  says:  “No  other  organization  takes  the  place  of 


20 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Christian  Endeavor  in  college.  .  .  At  Ashland  Chris¬ 

tian  Endeavor  is  one  of  the  big  features  of  college  ac¬ 
tivity.”  The  average  attendance  at  the  meetings  of  the 
society  at  McAlester  College,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  is  more 
than  one  hundred.  This  society  dravrs  up  a  programme 
of  work  for  each  month  and  puts  it  across.  Its  social- 
service'  committee  is  always  busy  and  keeps  the  members 
busy  too. 

College  students  at  Cornell  are  helped  in  a  different  way 
by  Christian  Endeavor.  The  societies  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y., 
have  organized  to  reach  them  and  find  for  them  church 
homes  and  Christian  Endeavor  work  to  do.  Similarly 
the  young  people  of  Northfield,  Minn.,  seek  to  reach  the 
students  at  Carleton  College,  especially  the  freshmen 
who  come  to  the  town  as  strangers. 

The  society  in  Piedmont  College,  Ga.,  is  about  twenty- 
four  years  old.  In  this  State  there  are  societies  in  the 
Southeastern  Christian  College,  Nacoochee  Institute,  Mil¬ 
ler’s  Academy,  the  Statesboro  Agricultural  and  Mechanical 
School,  and  a  similar  school  for  boys  at  Americus. 

Hastings  College,  in  Nebraska,  has  a  fine  society  of  107 
members.  Berea  College  in  Kentucky  has  long  been  the 
home  of  Christian  Endeavor  and  has  done  splendid  work 
along  this  line.  Otterbein  College  has  a  society,  and 
Wooster  University,  Ohio,  has  a  society  with  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  members,  which  is  putting  through  a  mag¬ 
nificent  programme. 

There  is  a  society  at  Dartmouth  College.  The  societies 
in  the  Industrial  School  at  Montverde,  Fla.,  have  a  com¬ 
bined  membership  of  about  three  hundred. 

In  the  State  school  for  the  deaf  and  blind  at  St.  Augus¬ 
tine,  Fla.,  there  are  two  societies,  at  one  time  the  largest 
societies  in  the  State.  Even  now  they  stand  only  in 
second  place.  The  one  society,  of  course,  is  for  those  that 
are  blind,  the  other  for  those  that  are  deaf.  At  Talladega, 
Ala.,  there  is  a  society  of  two  hundred  members  in  the 
school  for  the  deaf.  "This  is  the  largest  society  in  the 
State. 

A  new  development  is  that  in  the  International  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  College  at  Springfield,  Mass.  The  forty-six  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  religious-education  class  engaged  in  study  of 
the  various  movements  in  the  church,  and  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  was  listed  as  one  of  these  movements.  The  method 
was  first  to  study  the  principles  of  a  movement  and  its 
objectives,  then  to  study  the  methods  employed  to  reach 
these  objectives.  One  group,  for  instance,  studied  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor,  and  presented  to  the  whole  class  the  re¬ 
sult  of  its  study  by  means  of  papers.  Discussion  followed  ’ 
and  those  that  read  papers  had  to  defend  them  or  give 
further  explanations. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


21 


It  seems,  then,  that  our  colleges  and  especially  religious 
institutions  are  realizing  as  never  before  the  help  they 
may  find  in  Christian  Endeavor  by  way  of  providing  chan¬ 
nels  of  activity  and  training  for  their  young  people. 
Christian  Endeavor  is  an  expressional  institution.  Its 
emphasis  is  on  action,  and  this  is  what  the  young  folks 
need. 

Prison  Work 

It  is  high  testimony  to  the  value  of  Christian  Endeavor 
in  prisons  that  it  is  the  rarest  thing  for  a  released  pris¬ 
oner  who  has  been  a  member  of  the  society  in  prison  ever 
to  come  back  to  the  institution  as  a  criminal. 

In  San  Quentin  prison  in  California  there  is  a  society 
of  two  hundred  members  or  more,  and  the  lives  of  multi¬ 
tudes  of  men  have  been  changed  through  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  in  this  institution.  In  the  Eddyville  prison  in  Ken¬ 
tucky  the  society  numbers  seventy-five  members.  Prison 
work  has  been  taken  up  in  various  States  and  Endeav- 
orers  from  the  outside  have  organized  societies  in  the 
prisons.  Services  are  conducted  by  local  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  unions  for  men  in  prison,  and  great  good  is 
done.  In  one  instance  at  least  a  Christian  Endeavor  con¬ 
vention  was  held  near  a  prison  and  the  delegates  went  in 
a  body  and  held  a  meeting  for  the  men. 

In  a  Reform  School  for  girls  in  California  there  are 
five  societies,  one  in  each  cottage  to  which  the  girls  are 
attached. 


Floating  Endeavor 

Honorable  mention  will  be  made  elsewhere  of  Floating 
Endeavor  in  the  British  union,  which  throughout  the 
war  supported  a  troopship  evangelist  who  held  meetings 
at  the  docks  and  did  much  excellent  work  for  the  men.* 

In  the  United  States  the  Endeavorers  at  many  ports 
carry  on  work  for  the  men  of  the  sea.  Chicago  union 
has  a  fine  record  for  helping  the  sailors  of  the  Great 
Lakes.  Philadelphia  Endeavorers  visit  great  numbers  of 
ships,  conduct  meetings,  invite  the  men  to  their  churches, 
and  give  a  wonderful  demonstration  of  practical  Chris¬ 
tianity.  These  cities  are  but  samples  of  what  is  done 
elsewhere. 

In  San  Pedro,  Cal.,  the  Endeavorers  support  two  work¬ 
ers  who  look  after  sailors.  They  have  a  sailors’  home  and 
reading-room  and  own  property  valued  at  $15,000. 

Chaplain  Ramsden,  superintendent  of  Army  and  Navy 
Christian  Endeavor  for  the  United  Society,  is  constantly 

*See  Section  “Great  Britain  and  Ireland” 


22 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


urging  the  formation  of  navy  committees  in  inland  so¬ 
cieties.  These  committees  may  make  comfort-bags  for 
the  boys,  or  send  magazines  and  other  things.  Some¬ 
times  when  a  battleship  is  named  after  a  State  the  En- 
deavorers  of  that  State  will  combine  to  supply  the  ship 
with  hymn-books,  Bibles,  or  other  books. 


Army  Endeavor 

Nearly  150,000  enlisted  men  in  the  army,  and  all  of 
them  far  from  home!  Many  of  them  are  lonely.  What 
a  chance  for  Endeavor  to  come  to  their  aid! 

There  are  not  so  many  societies  in  the  army  as  there 
might  be.  Curiously  enough,  when  on  active  service  so¬ 
cieties  spring  up.  During  the  war  there  were  societies 
on  the  very  firing  li  e.  Some  of  the  most  vigorous  so¬ 
cieties  in  the  world  are  in  the  army  of  occupation  on  the 
Rhine.  There  is  one  in  Coblenz  which  does  much  for  the 
morale  of  its  members.  At  Christmas  it  gave  many  Ger¬ 
man  children  the  time  of  their  lives.  It  actually  supports 
twenty-two  German  war  orphans.  To  find  exactly  what 
these  children  needed  the  society  sent  a  representative 
into  the  unoccupied  territory,  where  no  American  sol¬ 
dier  may  go.  And  the  need  was  generously  met.  These 
boys  are  each  giving  an  average  of  more  than  $4  a 
month  to  Christian  Endeavor. 


Fresh-Air  Homes 

The  Endeavorers  of  several  States  are  doing  good  work 
providing  children  of  the  slums  with  two  weeks’  vacation 
in  the  country.  The  Brooklyn  union  has  a  Fresh-air 
camp  at  Huntingdon,  L.  I.,  where  groups  of  children  are 
taken  at  intervals  all  summer  long.  This  summer  more 
than  four  hundred  children  were  entertained  and  eighty 
mothers  with  their  babies. 

Essex  County,  N.  J.,  however,  easily  takes  first  place 
in  this  kind  of  work.  The  fresh-air  camp,  which  has  now 
property  valued  at  $25,000,  began  in  a  broken-down  house 
through  the  roof  of  which,  in  bad  weather,  the  rain  filtered 
steadily.  The  work  was  begun  by  a  woman  who  gave 
up  her  summer  vacation  to  the  children.  Last  season 
1,250  children  were  given  each  a  twc  weeks’  vacation  at 
a  cost  of  $12,000.  This  money  comes  from  the  Endeav¬ 
orers  of  the  county  and  their  friends. 

Baltimore,  also  generously  supports  fresh-air  work,  the 
societies  making  most  liberal  contributions  to  it. 

Even  in  distant  Finland  the  Endeavorers  maintain  a 
fresh-air  home  where  little  folks  are  given  a  vacation. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


Hospital  Endeavor 

Societies  without  number  visit  hospitals  and  sing  to  the 
patients,  talk  with  them,  and  in  many  cases  provide  read¬ 
ing  matter  for  them. 

For  many  years,  the  Endeavorers  of  Chicago  have  reg¬ 
ularly  conducted  services  in  the  Cook  County  Hospita'i 
and  have  supported  a  Christian  Endeavor  chaplain  there 
More  than  two  hundred  Endeavorers  regularly  visit  the 
hospital  to  sing,  to  do  personal  evangelistic  work,  or  t( 
help  in  other  ways.  Large  numbers  of  books  for  genera] 
reading,  pamphlets,  periodicals,  tracts,  gospels,  and  so  or  , 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  INDIA 
The  Honorary  General  Secretary,  Rev.  W.  J.  Hatch,  on  a  Journey. 


are  distributed  weekly.  Musical  and  literary  entertain¬ 
ments  are  planned,  and  every  Friday  night  a  concert  is 
conducted  under  Christian  Endeavor  auspices.  Last  season 
fifteen  bands  rendered  free  service  in  these  concerts.  Con¬ 
versions  are  frequent  in  the  Sunday-evening  chapel  ser¬ 
vices,  which  are  very  largely  attended. 

A  similar  work  is  done  by  the  Los  Angeles  County 
Endeavorers  in  the  county  hospital  there.  A  recent 
report  says  that  in  four  months  three  hundred  persons 
accepted  Christ  as  their  Saviour  through  this  work,  and 
seven  hundred  Bibles  were  given  to  patients.  A  note¬ 
worthy  fact  is  that  thirty  of  the  doctors  and  nurses  o: 


24 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


this  institution  have  signed  the  Christian  Endeavor  Life- 
Work  Recruit  covenant,  promising  their  full-time  service, 
if  God  will,  to  Christian  work. 


IV.  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  LATIN  AMERICA 

There  is  a  South  American  Christian  Endeavor  Union 
which  takes  in  the  countries  of  South  and  Central  Amer¬ 
ica,  together  with  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  and  British 
Guana.  This  is  an  immense  territory,  and  as  Protestant 
Christians  are  comparatively  few  within  its  extended 
borders,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  correct  statistics.  The 
union  reports  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  societies  that 
have  been  heard  from  but  states  that  there  are  other 
societies  at  work  in  many  missions  from  which  no  message 
has  come.  There  are  in  all  probably  about  two  hundred 
societies  in  Latin  America,  more  than  half  of  this  number 
being  in  Brazil. 

The  South  American  union  sent  a  beautiful  greeting 
to  the  World’s  Convention  in  New  York,  a  greeting  which 
embodied  the  spirit  of  our  sister  republics:  “He  is  our 
peace,  who  hath  made  both  one.” 


Brazil 

Brazil  reports  one  hundred  and  ten  societies  with  3,673 
members.  The  societies  in  Sao  Paulo  are  not  only  strong, 
but  are  filled  with  the  evangelistic  spirit.  Some  of  them 
have  organized  and  conduct  mission  Sunday  schools,  and 
all  of  them  distribute  tracts  and  do  much  Christian  work 
by  way  of  visitation. 

In  Roman  Catholic  countries  there  is  a  special  place 
for  Christian  Endeavor  as  a  training-school  which  gives 
opportunity  to  testify  for  Christ.  Perhaps  the  work  done 
by  the  society  at  Cuyaba,  Matto-Grosso,  will  illustrate 
the  things  that  many  mission  societies  are  doing.  The 
missionary  writes:  “Besides  speaking  at  the  regular 
meetings  of  the  society,  we  had  the  Endeavorers  give 
testimony  at  two  evangelistic  meetings.  This  is  some¬ 
thing  that  the  Christians  would  have  been  incapable  of 
doing  so  well,  had  it  not  been  for  their  training  in  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor.  Twenty  new  members  have  been  added 
to  the  society  during  the  year. 

“One  of  the  remarkable  things  about  our  Sunday  school 
is  that  we  are  getting  children  froni  non-Christian  homes. 
Nearly  all  our  Endeavor  members  are  helping  to  raise 
money  for  a  lot  and  church  building.” 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


25 


Mexico 

After  an  absence  of  twenty-five  years  Dr.  Francis  E. 
Clark  recently  visited  Mexico  and  was  made  royally  wel¬ 
come  by  a  host  of  Endeavorers  there;  for  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  work  has  gone  on  in  spite  of  revolution  and  famine 
in  our  sister  republic.  True,  it  has  been  hampered,  but 
not  extinguished.  Now  that  more  orderly  conditions  ap¬ 
pear  assured  rallies  and  conventions  are  being  held  and 
a  great  programme  is  planned  by  our  Mexican  friends. 

Missions  are  the  Christian  Endeavor  centres  in  Mexico. 

.  Everywhere  the  testimony  of  missionaries  is  that  when  a 
society  is  formed  the  young  people  increase  in  interest  and 
efficiency  as  church  workers. 

Venezuela 

In  Venezuela  Christian  Endeavor  clings,  of  course,  to 
the  missions,  where  it  is  doing  good  work.  In  Caracas, 
the  capital,  there  is  a  fine  society  from  which  come 
students  for  the  ministry.  As  we  write  three  young  men 
are  in  preparation  for  this  work.  All  are  Endeavorers, 
and  indeed,  were  won  to  Christ  through  the  Endeavor  so¬ 
ciety.  One  of  them  is  treasurer  and  manager  of  the 
Mutual  Aid  Society,  an  auxiliary  of  the  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  society.  This  is  really  a  small  insurance  company, 
the  aim  of  which  is  to  help  the  people  of  the  church  in 
times  of  sickness  or  unemployment.  Any  Endeavorer  may 
become  a  member  by  paying  ten  cents  a  week.  If  he  is 
sick  the  society  provides  doctor  and  medicine  and  other 
necessaries,  and  in  case  of  death  defrays  the  funeral  ex¬ 
penses.  During  the  influenza  epidemic  several  years  ago 
this  society  did  an  immense  amount  of  good,  providing  not 
only  medical  help,  but  also  food  in  many  cases. 

There  is  a  fine  society  in  the  American  College  in 
Caracas.  To  it  belong  all  the  teachers,  who  never  miss  an 
opportunity  to  turn  the  hearts  of  their  pupils  to  Christ. 
Most  of  the  pupils  come  from  non-Christian  homes. 

The  Endeavorers  of  Caracas  do  systematic  house-tu- 
house  visitation,  and  practically  all  the  work  done  by  mis¬ 
sionaries  in  the  homes  of  the  people  has  been  prepared 
for  them  by  the  Endeavorers.  In  the  homes  of  the  poor 
there  is  great  ignorance,  superstition,  and  even  vice,  and 
it  takes  much  work  and  great  patience  to  make  a  vital 
impression.  Occasionally  the  Endeavorers  are  able  to 
visit  nearby  villages  and  leave  tracts  that  tell  the  gospel 
story. 

Colombia 

Little  news  comes  to  us  from  Colombia,  but  Christian 
Endeavor  is  to  be  found  in  Protestant  missions  there,  too. 


26 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


At  Barranquilla,  on  the  Magdalena  River,  five  hundred 
miles  north  of  Bogota,  there  is  a  society  for  young  men. 
In  addition  to  their  “weekly  meetings  they  have  carried 
on  educational  and  evangelistic  work  in  different  parts  of 
the  city,  besides  raising  considerable  sums  for  philan¬ 
thropic  ends.  It  is  stated  that  at  the  Medellin  station  the 
Junior  and  Senior  societies  are  developing  leadershin  so 
effectively  that  church  members,  who  are  trained  in  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor,  frequently  conduct  the  church  nraver 
meetings  themselves. 


Bolivia 

The  year  1920  saw  a  new  start  made  in  Bolivia,  South 
America.  A  new  society  was  formed  in  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Oruro  with  nine  active,  two  associate,  and  four 
honorary  members.  The  president  and  pastor  is  Rev. 
Percy  G.  Buck,  a  Canadian  missionary. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  another  society 
was  formed  in  the  village  of  Toracari.  This  society  began 
also  with  nine  members.  There  are  prospects,  as  we  write, 
for  the  organization  of  a  third  society. 

Bolivia  is  intensely  Roman  Catholic,  and  both  mission¬ 
aries  and  Endeavorers  are  likely  to  be  subjected  to  in¬ 
sults  and  sometimes  to  violence  when  they  distribute 
tracts  or  try  to  sell  the  Scriptures.  Christian  Endeavor 
is  of  great  value  in  the  new  Protestant  churches,  training 
as  it  does  the  young  people  in  their  spiritual  life  and  for 
service. 


The  Canal  Zone 

It  was  natural  that  Christian  Endeavor  should  be  trans¬ 
planted  with  Americans  to  the  Canal  Zone.  In  the  union 
church  at  Cristobal  there  is  a  fine  group  of  Endeavorers. 
This  society  has,  we  believe,  thirty  members  and  does  no 
end  of  excellent  Christian  work,  especially  helping  with 
sympathy  and  fellowship  those  who  arrive  at  the  Isthmus. 
At  Gatun  also  there  is  a  society  of  about  twenty-six  mem¬ 
bers.  At  Pedro  Miguel,  there  is  a  Senior  society,  while 
at  Balboa  there  are  three  societies.  Senior,  Intermediate, 
and  Junior.  It  is  of  the  Senior  society  that  the  pastor 
writes:  “It  has  its  seasons  of  rise  and  decline,  but  it  never 
stops.  Its  meetings  are  ever  encouraging  and  helpful.” 
We  hear  also  of  a  Baptist  society  at  Colon. 

The  Canal  Zone  is  the  “crossroads  of  the  continent,” 
and  many  young  men  are  continually  arriving  there.  Fine 
work  IS  done  by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  for  women,  we  are  told, 
but  the  young  men  are  neglected.  Those  that  know  the 
situation  believe  that  Christian  Endeavor  has  here  a  great 
opportunity  for  worth-while  service. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


27 


Other  Courttries 

Although  the  numbers  are  small  Christian  Endeavor  is 
established  in  other  Latin  American  countries.  The  fig¬ 
ures  we  give  are  those  of  the  South  American  union,  and 
include  only  societies  that  report  to  that  union.  There  are 
very  likely  other  societies,  especially  in  Chile.  In  Ar¬ 
gentina  there  are  three  societies,  in  Chile  two  reported, 
in  Peru  one,  in  Nicaragua  two,  and  in  El  Salvador  two. 
There  are  also  societies  in  British  Guana  and  Panama. 


V,  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  OTHER  LANDS 

That  Christian  Endeavor  suffered  in  war-devastated 
lands  goes  without  saying,  but  it  was  not  extinguished 
even  in  those  lands  that  suffered  most.  The  male  members 
of  societies  were  mostly  of  military  age  and  were  sent 
to  the  front  in  all  the  warring  armies,  but  the  societies 
carried  nobly  on  and  did  heroic  work. 

In  other  parts  of  the  world  the  tumultuous  years  since 
the  war  ended  have  been  fruitful  for  Christian  Endeavor. 
A  brief  review  of  different  countries  will  tell  the  story, 
although  no  words  can  paint  the  tragedy  of  it  in  those 
countries  that  suffered  most.  Of  course,  only  a  few 
Christian  Endeavor  countries  can  be  treated. 


Canada 

Canada  does  not  make  a  great  noise  in  the  Christian 
Endeavor  world,  but  it  is  doing  good  work  along  Christian 
Endeavor  lines  all  the  same.  A  breath  of  new  life  came 
over  the  societies  of  Manitoba,  for  instance,  when  at  a 
convention  held  late  in  1920  the  young  people  got  a  vision 
of  their  opportunity  for  service.  A  daring  programme 
was  laid  out,  altogether  in  faith,  and  Lieutenant  W.  Steen- 
son,  a  north-of-Ireland  man,  who  has  been  through  the 
World  War,  and  who  was  seriously  wounded  in  it,  gave 
up  a  fine  position  in  order  that  he  might  become  field¬ 
secretary  for  the  province.  Since  then  he  has  gone  up 
and  down  the  province,  encouraging  the  weak,  and  or¬ 
ganizing  new  societies.  In  other  provinces  Christian 
Endeavor  goes  quietly  and  persistently  on. 


Great  Britain  and  Ireland 

Christian  Endeavor  suffered  greatly  in  En2:land  during 
the  war.  The  young  men  were  at  the  front,  and,  alas, 
many  of  them  did  not  come  back  from  those  blood¬ 
stained  fields. 


28 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Since  the  war,  however,  there  has  been  a  marked  re¬ 
vival  of  Christian  Endeavor  interest,  and  activities  are 
going  forward  as  in  the  old  days. 

Rev.  Herbert  Halliwell,  for  a  good  many  years  general¬ 
secretary  of  the  India  Christian  Endeavor  Union,  is  gen¬ 
eral-secretary  of  the  national  union,  which  includes  Scot¬ 
land,  Wales,  and  Ireland.  His  home  is  at  the  Christian 
Endeavor  headquarters  in  London,  a  house  purchased  by 
the  union  and  carried  on  as  a  modest  Christian  Endeavor 
hostelry. 

Holiday  homes  are  becoming  more  and  more  popular 
in  all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom.  There  are  half  a 
dozen  or  more  in  England,  and  there  are  several  in  Scot¬ 
land.  For  a  modest  sum  Endeavorers  can  secure  board 
and  lodging  in  these  homes  and  enjoy  a  holiday  and  real 
Christian  Endeavor  fellowship.  Moreover  the  homes  are 
on  a  paying  basis. 

The  present  president  of  the  British  Christian  Endeav¬ 
or  Union,  Rev.  James  Kelly,  is  a  Scot,  who  has  risen 
through  all  grades  of  Christian  Endeavor  from  the  Junior 
society  upward.  More  than  that,  he  is  a  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  Life-Work  Recruit,  having  decided  in  a  Christian 
Endeavor  convention  to  give  himself  to  the  foreign  field. 
Hard  study  and  harder  work  during  student  days  made 
it  impossible  for  him  to  go  abroad,  but  he  entered  the 
ministry  at  home  instead.  He  served  the  British  union 
acceptably  for  several  years  as  field-secretary.  Now  he 
heads  the  organization. 


“ARDENEDEN” 

One  of  the  Pleasant  Scottish  Holiday  Homes.  It  is  Situated  in  the 
Kyles  of  Bute  and  Is  Very  Popular. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


29 


Scotland  is  coming  to  the  front  in  Alumni  work.  As 
we  write  there  are  more  than  six  hundred  members  of 
the  Scottish  Christian  Endeavor  Alumni  organization.  The 
idea  is  being  adopted  in  England  also. 

One  of  the  most  effective  and  far-reaching  kinds  of 
work  done  by  British  Endeavorers  is  the  Floating  work, 
which  is  thoroughly  organized  so  that  inland  societies  may 
have  a  part  in  it.  Not  only  do  Endeavorers  visit  ships 
in  British  ports,  they  conduct  meetings  at  the  docks,  and 
they  make  and  distribute  thousands  of  comfort  bags  for 
sailors.  They  send  Bibles,  Testaments,  magazines, 
mufflers,  mittens,  and  innumerable  other  articles  to  the 
boys  of  the  sea,  and  they  write  thousands  of  letters  \yhich 
are  sent  to  sailors  in  every  port  in  the  world  at  Christ¬ 
mas.  These  letters  and  gifts  that  often  accompany  them 
are  frequently  the  only  Christmas  cheer  that  gets  to  the 
men. 

One  astonishing  feature  of  Christian  Endeavor  is  the 
way  in  which  it  inspires  young  people  to  undertake  splen¬ 
didly  helpful  work  which  they  probably,  without  Christian 
Endeavor,  never  would  dream  of  attempting.  For  exam¬ 
ple,  a  young  woman  visited  a  Floating  society  in  New¬ 
port  and  saw  what  the  society  was  doing.  She  went  back 
to  her  home  society  in  Coventry  determined  that  she 
would  start  Floating  work  there.  Very  soon  fifteen  Cov¬ 
entry  societies  were  infected  with  her  enthusiasm  and 
were  hard  at  work.  Here  are  some  of  the  things  they 
did:  They  sent  sacks  of  magazines  and  books  to  seaport 
cities — for,  remember,  Coventry  is  not  on  the  coast.  They 
prepared  one  hundred  dip-bags  for  soldiers’  socials.  In 
these  bags  they  put  shaving-sticks,  soap,  mirrors,  sta¬ 
tionery,  combs,  pencils,  nail-brusnes,  scissors,  tooth¬ 
brushes  and  books.  They  regularly  visited  wounded  sol¬ 
diers  in  the  hospital.  They  even  took  several  convalescent 
soldiers  to  their  homes.  They  assisted  the  poor,  and  they 
sold  four  thousand  postal  cards,  the  profits  from  the 
sales  going  to  their  work. 

The  mayor  of  Bermondsey,  a  borough  in  London,  is  an 
old-time  Endeavorer,  having  at  one  time  been  president 
of  the  district  union.  He  knew  the  spirit  of  Endeavorers, 
and  when  he  needed  help  for  the  ur employed  in  his  terri¬ 
tory  he  immediately  appealed  to  the  Endeavorers  to  send 
warm  clothing  and  morey,  if  possible,  to  meet  the  need. 
The  Endeavorers  responded  wonderfully,  and  parcels  of 
clothing  poured  into  the  mayor’s  office  to  assist  the  12,000 
idle  me  . 

Irish  societies,  of  course,  are  mostly  in  the  north,  in 
Ulster.  Some  of  the  pastors  speak  of  Christian  En¬ 
deavor'  as  their  right  hand  in  church  work.  They  do  the 
usual  kind  of  work,  although  many  of  them  put  emphasis 


30 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


on  missions.  They  help  to  pay  the  salaries  of  denomina¬ 
tional  missionaries  on  the  field. 

For  the  rest,  service  is  the  watchword.  One  church  in 
Belfast  needed  repairs  and  the  Endeavorers  determined  to 
raise  the  funds  by  means  of  a  sale.  They  carried  through 
a  fine  programme  and  realized  more  than  $500.  The 
Juniors  alone  made  $100  at  their  confectionery-stall, where 
they  gave  a  concert  every  half-hour. 

A  society  in  Portadown  held  a  harvest  festival.  Con¬ 
tributions  of  farm  produce  were  solicited  by  letter,  and 
the  Endeavorers  went  around  with  a  motor  truck  and  col¬ 
lected  the  gifts,  which  were  sold  at  the  festival.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  contributions  was  a  live  hen. 

In  spiritual  work  Irish  Endeavorers  are  in  their  element. 
Cottage  and  open-air  meetings  are  common.  In  a  recent 
revival  which  stirred  the  whole  country-side,  the  Endeav¬ 
orers  were  in  the  front,  and  Christian  Endeavor  days 
were  held  in  the  tent  meetings. 

France  and  Switzerland 

In  no  country  did  Christian’  Endeavor  suffer  from  the 
war  more  than  in  France,  except,  perhaps,  those  Russian 
states  that  were  trampled  under  foot  by  armies.  In  the 
north  of  France  the  blow  fell  heavily  on  the  societies.  A 
Christian  Endeavor  fresh-air  home  for  children,  conducted 
by  the  late  Rev.  Victor  Van  der  Beken,  the  earnest  secre¬ 
tary  of  the  French  union,  lay  in  the  path  of  the  advancing 
German  armies  and  was  occupied  by  them. 

In  the  south,  however,  the  societies,  depleted  of  their 
male  members,  held  steadily  on.  The  French  union  has 
taken  up  work  again  since  the  war  and  French  Christian 
Endeavor  conventions  have  been  held.  Christian  Endeav¬ 
or,  of  course,  has  always  been  numerically  weak  in 
France,  but  Endeavorers  form  a  vital  part  of  the  Protest¬ 
ant  churches. 

The^e  are  some  good  societies  in  Switzerland,  especially 
in  Calvin’s  city,  Geneva,  where  Rev.  Ernest  Sauvin  is  the 
devoted  leader. 

Hollard 

Holland  has  been  slow  to  welcome  Christian  Endeavor. 
A^lthough  the  societies  are  few,  this  year  has  seen  the 
formation  of  a  u  ion  with  Dr.  A.  T.  Schmidt,  of  Rotter¬ 
dam,  as  president,  and  Mr.  Tielrooij,  of  Holder,  as  sec¬ 
retary. 


Spain 

Although  Spai  i  was  not  i  volved  in  the  war  the  soci¬ 
eties  felt  the  effect  of  the  great  struggle,  a  .d  their  ac¬ 
tivities  slowed  down.  A  revival  of  interest,  however,  came 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


31 


through  an  evangelical  conference  held  in  Madrid  in 
1919,  when  the  national  Christian  Endeavor  officers  met 
to  discuss  plans  and  methods.  The  officers  visited  the 
societies  and  found  them  active  in  many  cities  in  the 
provinces  of  Catalonia,  Valencia,  Alicante,  Barcelona,  Ara¬ 
gon,  Castilla,  Bilboa,  Andalusia.  New  societies  are  now 
being  formed.  We  hear  of  three  in  three  denominations, 
the  Baptist,  the  Reformed  Episcopal,  and  the  Methodist. 
Like  most  groups  in  Roman  Catholic  countries,  the  soci- 
e*ties  are  evangelistic  in  spirit  and  have  organized  meet¬ 
ings  for  preaching  and  for  Bible-study.  Cottage  meetings 
are  common. 

One  fact  will  give  an  idea  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  Protestantism,  and,  of  course,  Christian  Endeavor, 
labor  in  Spain.  Nearly  thirty  years  ago  Dr.  Clark  was 
welcomed  while  on  a  visit  to  San  Sebastian  with  a  shower 
of  rose  leaves  from  the  balcony  of  a  girls’  school  there. 
The  girls  who  prepared  the  surprise  for  him  were  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  society  in  the  school.  Last 
year  this  society  was  driven  out  of  house  and  home  by 
the  landlord  of  the  building  where  it  worshipped.  He  did 
this,  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  authorities,  if  he  refused. 
No  other  suitable  meeting-place  could  be  secured,  yet  the 
society  holds  together,  the  members  taking  long  walks 
together  on  Sunday  afternoons,  which  no  one  can  pre¬ 
vent.  This  is  a  genuinely  peripatetic  society,  a  new  kind, 
surely.  The  missionary.  Rev.  Mr.  Bowers,  speaks  in  high 
terms  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  young  people. 


Germany 

The  number  of  German  societies  doubled  during  the 
war.  There  are  to-day  more  than  1,020  societies  with 
about  32,000  members,  including  190  Junior  societies  with 
4,100  members.  There  are  about  twenty  provincial  unions 
in  the  German  national  union,  and  they  support  ten  field- 
secretaries,  including  two  deaconesses  who  work  among 
the  young  wome  .  At  the  German  headquarters,  which 
are  at  Friedrichshafen,  near  Berlin,  there  is  one  general- 
secretary,  Rev.  Friedrich  Blecher,  one  director,  and  twelve 
other  officers. 

An  unusual  feature  of  German  Endeavor  is  the  fact 
that  the  E^deavorers  support  th’ ee  hund  ed  end  fifty- 
three  Sunday  schools  with  more  than  26,000  pupils,  and  a 
recent  report  states  that  out  of  German  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  have  come  1,033  special  Christian  workers,  eight 
pastors,  ninety  evangelists,  thirty-five  preachers,  forty- 
seven  missionaries,  and  eight  hurdred  and  thirty-four 
deaconesses. 


32 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Before  the  war  the  German  Endeavorers  supported 
entirely  eighteen  missionaries  in  the  Caroline  Islands, 
but  these  missionaries  have  been  expelled  by  the  Jap¬ 
anese.  The  societies  are  still  in  existence,  but  we  have 
no  authentic  information  as  to  their  condition. 

Hungary 

With  grim  tenacity  the  Endeavorers  of  Hungary  clung 
to  Christian  Endeavor  through  the  dark  years  of  the 
war.  It  is  true  their  ranks  were  sadly  depleted,  but 
those  that  remained  were  faithful.  In  Budapest,  the 
capital,  we  hear  of  two  societies,  a  women’s  society  of 
130  members,  and  a  men’s  with  forty  members.  This 
men’s  society  has  grown  out  of  a  Junior  society,  first 
becoming  a  young  men’s  society,  and  then  a  men’s 
society. 

Only  earnest  workers  are  received  into  these  societies, 
which  accounts  for  the  comparatively  small  member¬ 
ship.  The  attendance  at  the  meetings  is  four  times  as 
large  as  the  membership. 

These  Endeavorers  conduct  weekly  evangelistic  meet¬ 
ings  in  nine  places  in  the  city;  they  conduct  eight  Junior 
meetings  weekly,  and  thirty  Sunday  schools.  Eight  En¬ 
deavorers  do  Christian  work  among  blind  persons  in 
three  institutions,  twenty-four  among  prisoners  in  three 
prisons,  twenty-nine  among  children  who  are  morally  de¬ 
linquent,  eleven  in  three  poorhouses,  among  the  aged 
poor,  and  seventeen  work  among  unfortunate  women  in 
two  hospitals.  A  group  of  eight  Endeavorers  work 
among  persons  who  have  unsuccessfully  attempted  to 
commit  suicide. 

There  is  a  literature  committee  of  fifteen  members,  a 
committee  of  twenty-two  members  for  distributing  tracts 
and  papers  and  there  are  visiting,  corresponding,  and 
missionary  committees.  A  new  venture  is  a  work  among 
students. 

All  through  the  war  regular  meetings  and  rallies  were 
held.  Two  thousand  copies  of  a  Christian  Endeavor 
paper.  The  Mustard  Seed,  are  distributed  monthly. 

The  union  has  a  publishing  house  and  in  1921,  when 
the  publications  were  cut  down  to  the  bone,  they  pub¬ 
lished  6,000  copies  of  a  Christian  Endeavor  almanac,  a 
Christian  Endeavor  topic-book,  a  biography  of  George 
Muller,  and  some  pamphlets. 

In  Hungary  Christian  Endeavor  has  been  passing 
through  deep  tribulation.  Many  of  the  Endeavorers  died 
because  of  sickness  during  the  terrible  years  of  war. 
Many  are  to-day  broken  in  health,  including  their  leader. 
Dr.  A.  Szabo,  who  nearly  starved  to  death.  The  mailed 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


33 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  IN  KOREA. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Anderson,  Andong,  Korea,  about  to  Start  on  a  Tour. 
Mr.  Anderson  Says  That  Korea  Is  Eager  for  Christian  Endeavor 
and  That  Five  Hundred  Societies  Could  Be  Started  at  Once  if  a 
Field-Worker  Were  Available. 


hand  of  Bolshevism  was  also  laid  heavily  upon  Christian 
Endeavor,  which  took  the  Christian  Endeavor  office  and 
the  printing  house.  Much  valuable  Christian  Endeavor 
literature  was  destroyed.  A  young  woman,  an  Endeav- 
orer,  barely  escaped  with  her  life  from  the  Bolsheviks, 
because  she  had  invited  people  to  attend  divine  service. 

The  societies  in  Budapest  and  the  country  around  lost 
touch  with  one  another,  for  travelling  was  almost  impos¬ 
sible.  In  spite  of  all,  however,  Christian  Endeavor  has 
gone  forward  on  its  chosen  path  of  service.  Very  little 
money  has  gone  at  any  time  into  Christian  Endeavor 
work  in  Hungary,  although  there  is  no  country  where 
money  could  get  better  results,  or  where  it  would  be  bet¬ 
ter  used.  God  alone  knows  the  deep  need. 


Poland 

As  flowers  on  a  battlefield  lift  their  heads  when  the 
fierce  storm  is  past,  so  is  Christian  Endeavor  lifting  its 
head  in  Poland,  perhaps  one  of  the  most  harrowed  coun¬ 
tries  in  the  war.  Divided  before  the  war,  her  sons  were 


34 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


forced  to  fight  in  opposing  armies.  This  alone  was  tragic, 
but  was  nothing  compared  to  the  sufferings  of  non- 
combatants  when  German  and  Russian  armies  swayed 
back  and  forth  in  conflict,  carrying  destruction  and  death 
in  their  train. 

The  experience  of  the  little  society  in  Zgbierz  is  typical. 
In  1914,  with  the  young  men  in  the  army,  the  Christian 
Endeavor  room  had  to  be  closed.  They  had  been  meeting 
in  a  hired  house,  since  they  could  not  find  a  room  in  their 
church.  When  they  were  cast  out  of  their  room,  they 
begged  the  pastor  to  let  them  use  a  room  in  the  church, 
but  they  were  refused. 

The  soldiers  came  back  at  the  close  of  the  war  and  took 
up  the  work  anew.  They  are  hampered  on  every  side, 
but  are  carrying  on  in  faith  and  high  hope. 

In  other  cities  Christian  Endeavor  lived  through  the 
war.  In  Pabianice  and  Lodz,  for  instance.  In  the  former 
city  only  twenty  members  are  left;  but  they  hold  to¬ 
gether  in  spite  of  all. 


ESTHONIA 

Before  the  revolution  Esthonia  was  of  course  a  part  of 
the  Russian  Empire  and  it  lay  in  the  path  of  armies  and 
was  fought  over  during  the  terrible  years  of  war. 

Like  a  great  storm  the  war  swept  away  much  Christian 
Endeavor  work  that  had  been  done  in  this  section,  but  a 
new  beginning  was  made  when  the  Finnish  Christian 
Endeavor  union  sent  down  two  field-secretaries  to  help 
establish  Christian  Endeavor  again.  In  Reval,  the  capital 
of  the  republic,  a  revival  broke  out  under  their  preaching, 
and  many  were  converted.  Societies  were  formed  in  the 
city  and  in  the  surrounding  district.  First  we  heard  of 
eleven  societies,  and  a  little  later,  of  nineteen.  One  of 
these  societies  in  Reval  has  150  members,  ninety  of  them 
active.  They  have  all  sorts  of  committees.  This  society 
has  a  large  literary  and  art  committee  which  has  twenty- 
two  members.  As  we  write  twenty  societies  are  reported, 
and  the  number  is  likely  to  ^ow. 

The  society  referred  to  issues  a  paper,  “Sihi  Poole,” 
meaning  “Toward  (the  Mark.”  Some  propaganda  work  has 
been  done  by  selling  Christian  books  at  meetings. 

A  national  union  has  been  formed  and  a  national  con¬ 
vention  has  been  held  in  the  capital.  A  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  paper  will  be  published  for  the  societies. 

This  is  another  case  in  which  a  little  goes  a  long  way. 
The  Esthonian  mark  is  so  depreciated  that  a  compara¬ 
tively  small  amount  of  American  money  runs  into  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  marks.  For  instance,  the  re- 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


35 


vival  just  referred  to  was  made  possible  by  a  gift  of  $200 
from  the  World’s  Christian  Endeavor  Union  to  Finland. 
The  Finnish  union  decided  to  use  this  money  to  help 
Esthonia  and  sent  two  field-secretaries  to  carry  the 
message  with  the  result  outlined.  Esthonia  needs  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  literature  and  field-secretaries.  The  field 
is  ripe.  It  is  ours  to  enter  and  harvest. 

Latvia 

Latvia  is  one  of  the  countries  carved  out  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Empire.  Liba  is  the  capital.  In  this  city  there  is  a 
society,  a  remnant  compared  with  former  glories,  with 
twenty-one  members,  and  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Per¬ 
haps  ere  this  other  societies  have  been  formed.  At  any 
rate  we  have  heard  of  twenty-five  societies  in  the  Re¬ 
public,  with  about  750  members. 


Russia 

It  is  hard  to  get  news  of  any  kind  from  Russia  proper, 
but  reports  have  come  to  us  of  some  3,000  Russian  sol¬ 
diers  who  were  converted  while  prisoners  in  Germany, 
and  many  of  whom  are  doing  evangelistic  work  in  their 
own  country  to-day.  In  many  places,  it  is  said,  there  is  an 
awakening  in  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church.  A  pastor 
writes  from  Russia:  “All  that  you  have  heard  concerning 
the  hunger  for  God’s  word  is  true.  I  have  seen  it  with 
my  own  eyes.”  So  far  as  we  know  Christian  Endeavor 
has  not  yet  achieved  a  foothold  in  Bolshevik  Russia,  but 
it  is  sttated  that  the  church  is  ready  to  welcome  the  move¬ 
ment  when  it  is  presented  to  it.  The  need  is  felt  for 
something  to  reach  the  young  people. 


Scandinavia 

Norway  is  farthest  ahead  in  Christian  Endeavor  in  the 
three  Scandinavian  countries.  The  work  started  there  in 
1904  and  societies  are  now  found  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  One  of  the  pioneers  is  Rev.  H.  B.  Klaeboe,  a 
pastor  in  Christiania,  the  capital.  He  has  used  the  society 
with  remarkable  success  in  his  own  church  work  and 
states  that  it  has  completely  revolutionized  his  parish 
activities. 

In  a  recent  publication  he  compares  the  twenty-five- 
year  period  of  his  church’s  history  without  Christian  En¬ 
deavor,  and  the  sixteen  year  period  with  it.  Before  the 
society  was  formed,  there  was  no  democratic  church  life 
in  the  parish,  no  common  team-work,  and  the  fellowship 
of  prayer  and  faith  was  unknown. 


36 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Christian  Endeavor  has  made  the  church  a  real  democ¬ 
racy.  It  has  united  the  workers  as  nothing  before  had 
done.  It  has  set  up  new  standards.  The  Endeavorers 
started  a  weekly  parish  paper  in  1905  and  this  has  con¬ 
tinued  a  career  of  usefulness  to  this  day.  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  opened  up  the  homes  of  the  people  to  the  pastor. 
It  brought  out  the  mothers  in  a  league  of  service.  It  has 
taken  the  lead  in  every  kind  of  church  activity  and  made 
absolutely  invaluable  contributions  to  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  parish. 

In  connection  with  this  church  alone  there  are  eighteen 
societies  besides  a  mothers’  society.  Pastor  Klaeboe 
gathers  into  the  society  all  children  who  are  preparing 


THE  LARGEST  SOCIETY  IN  THE  WORLD 

This  Society  Is  at  Bolenge,  on  the  Congo,  Africa.  The  Picture  Shows 
Part  of  the  Crowd  Leaving  the  Church. 


for  confirmation,  and  they  get  not  only  the  knowledge  that 
comes  from  confirmation  classes,  but  also  specific  training 
in  Christian  work. 

The  society,  or  rather  the  union  of  societies,  has  estab¬ 
lished  a  bureau  where  Christian  Endeavor  helps  are  sold 
and  where  Endeavorers  may  learn  typewriting,  if  they 
desire.  “The  Endeavorer’s  Daily  Companion”  has  been 
translated  into  Norwegian  by  Pastor  Klaeboe  and  is  used 
by  the  Endeavorers  and  others. 

Not  long  ago  the  official  council  of  the  church  voted  to 
make  Christian  Endeavor  a  regular  part  of  the  church 
work.  Hitherto  it  has  been  a  private  enterprise,  but  this 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


37 


action  of  the  church  places  it  in  a  different  position.  It 
will  have  the  power  of  the  church  authorities  behind  it, 
and  more  than  that,  it  will  have  the  financial  support 
of  the  church  as  well. 

There  are  Christian  Endeavor  societies  in  Sweden,  but 
the  movement  has  not  gained  firm  foothold  in  the  Luth¬ 
eran  Church,  which  is  the  church  of  the  majority  of  the 
people.  There  is  indeed  in  that  church  a  young  people’s 
organization  built  along  devotional  and  missionary  lines, 
but  it  lacks  the  clear-cut  pledge  of  the  Endeavor  society. 

Recently,  however,  Rev.  Mr.  Klaeboe  of  Christiania, 
Norway,  and  Pastor  Blecher,  general-secretary  of  the 
German  Christian  Endeavor  union,  visited  Gothenburg, 
Sweden,  and  held  a  conference  with  pastors  of  the  Swed¬ 
ish  Lutheran  Church.  Christian  Endeavor  was  discussed 
from  all  angles  and  some  of  the  pastors  present  indicated 
that  'they  would  try  the  society  in  their  parishes. 

Mr.  Klaeboe’s  parish  has  invited  an  All-Scandinavian 
Christian  Endeavor  conference  as  its  guests  in  Chris¬ 
tiania.  What  this  will  mean  for  Christian  Endeavor  in 
Sweden  no  one  can  tell.  Let  us  pray  that  it  may  mean 
much. 

In  Denmark  there  are  only  a  few  societies.  The  lead¬ 
er  of  to-day  is  Rev.  Harold  Kent,  a  Lutheran  pastor,  who 
is  greatly  interested  in  the  work,  and  who  is  doing  much 
to  interest  others. 


Finland 

Christian  Endeavor  flourishes  in  Finland.  It  is  a  pity 
that  we  do  not  know  more  of  what  Endeavorers  are  doing 
in  these  far  lands,  for  their  work  is  truly  worth  while  and 
rolls  up  a  mighty  record  of  achievement. 

The  last  Finnish  national  convention  lasted  four  days 
and  was  attended  by  one  thousand  delegates.  For  the 
first  time  in  history  the  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  was 
held  in  a  Lutheran  state  church.  This  convention  was 
built  around  the  summer  conference  idea  and  practical 
classes  were  held  along  all  lines  of  work. 

Ten  young  women  Endeavorers  some  time  ago  took  a 
three  months’  course  in  Bible-study  and  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  principles  in  order  fo  fit  themselves  for  evangelis¬ 
tic  work. 

Finnish  Endeavor  reaches  out  to  others.  It  sent  two 
field-secretaries  to  Esthonia  where  a  revival  broke  out 
under  their  preaching,  and  we  hear  of  plans  to  send 
others  to  Ingermanland,  a  province  that  is  hardly  known 
to  American  Endeavorers,  but  which  takes  in  the  country 
round  Petrograd,  Russia.  Finnish  Endeavorers  also  con¬ 
duct  fresh-air  work  and  give  children  of  the  cities  a 
happy  vacation  in  the  country. 


38 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Palestine 

At  last  Palestine,  freed  from  the  age-long  rule  of  the 
Turk,  is  to  welcome  Christian  Endeavor.  One  of  the  most 
enthusiastic  leaders  of  the  movement  is  Lex  Klutz,  an 
American  Endeavorer,  who  has  a  position  in  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College  of  Beirut,  where  he  organized  a  society 
and  interested  a  number  of  others  in  the  work. 

The  United  Missionary  Conference,  an  influential  body 
of  missionaries,  in  a  meeting  held  in  Jerusalem,  passed  a 
resolution  indorsing  the  revival  of  Christian  Endeavor  in 
Palestine  and  instructing  the  evangelistic  committee  to 
co-operate  in  pushing  young  people’s  work. 

Four  young  men  from  the  Syrian  college  gave  all  their 
summer  vacation  in  1921  to  make  a  tour  of  Palestine. 
They  visited  many  of  the  cities  named  in  Bible  story  and 
sowed  in  the  land  of  our  Lord  the  seed  of  Christian  En¬ 
deavor. 


Australia  and  New  Zealand 

Christian  Endeavor  in  Australia,  which  has  a  popula¬ 
tion  only  a  little  larger  than  that  of  New  York  City,  is 
going  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds,  like  the  Australian 
kangaroo.  The  last  All-Australia  convention  was  a  great 
success  and  was  largely  attended,  some  of  the  delegates 
travelling  2,000  miles  to  the  convention  city.  The  Junior 
rally  in  the  town  hall  of  Sydney  attracted  an  audience  of 
3,000. 

The  societies,  many  of  which  are  small,  especially  those 
in  the  bush,  are  doing  the  same  kind  of  work  as  in  our 
own  country.  Ore  of  the  greatest  of  England’s  evan¬ 
gelical  p^  eachers,  Rev.  Lionel  Fletcher,  was  a  member  of 
one  of  those  bush  societies  and  learned  in  part  there  the 
art  that  has  made  him  world-famous. 

Sunshine  committees  flgure  in  Senior  societies  there, 
and  some  of  the  firest  work  is  done  through  visiting  the 
sick,  through  conducting  flower  days,  which  are  supported 
by  the  public  and  bring  cartloads  of  flowers  to  the  cities, 
where  Endeavorers  distribute  them  among  the  hospitals 
and  the  poor.  The  societies  are  evangelical  in  spirit  and 
there  are  many  bicycle  corps  which  take  long  journeys 
into  the  country  that  they  may  preach  the  gospel.  Mis¬ 
sionary  i  nterest  is  great  and  many  Endeavorers  have  gone 
to  the  foreign  field.  Some  of  the  workers  in  the  Aborig¬ 
inal  Mission  are  Endeavorers  and  in  those  mission  sta¬ 
tions  both  Senior  and  Junior  societies  flourish. 

Australia  has  adopted  the  Christian  Endeavor  Alumni 
idea,  and  has  appointed  Mr.  John  B.  Spencer,  a  well- 
known  architect  of  Sydney,  to  be  superintendent. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


39 


In  New  Zealand  Christian  Endeavor  is  flourishing.  In 
three  years,  for  instance,  fifteen  ministers  and  thirty- 
nine  missionaries  went  out  from  the  ranks  of  Endeavorers. 


In  the  South  Seas 

Wherever  you  go  on  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas,  you 
find  Christian  Endeavor  societies.  The  movement  in  the 
New  Hebrides  was  founded  by  Frank  Baton,  son  of  the 
revered  missionary.  Dr.  Baton,  just  after  a  Christian 
chief  had  been  shot  while  he  was  defending  the  mission¬ 
aries.  This  society  for  a  long  time  met  twice  a  week 
and  preached  the  gospel,  as  their  dead  chief  bade  them, 
among  his  murderers. 

There  are  at  least  twenty-one  societies  in  the  Marshall 
Islands,  perhaps  more.  They  call  themselves  “Imitators 
of  Christ.'’  Societies  flourished  before  the  war  in  the 
Caroline  Islands,  where  the  Endeavorers  of  Germany  sup¬ 
ported  missionaries. 

In  Samoa  the  Endeavorers  called  themselves  at  first  by 
the  beautiful  name,  “Brothers  of  the  Bledge.”  The  first 
society  organized  sixteen  other  societies.  Many  of  the 
members  have  gone  into  other  islands  to  preach  Christ 
and  some  of  them  have  laid  down  their  lives  for  Him. 


Trinidad 

Christian  Endeavor  is  not  new  in  Trinidad.  In  some 
places  it  is  as  old  as  the  missions  themselves.  For  years 
societies  have  been  at  work  in  a  quiet  way,  unknown  even 
to  the  officers  of  the  South  American  union.  It  was  an 
American  sailor  that  brought  them  into  touch  with  the 
union.  While  with  the  fleet  in  Bort  of  Spain,  he  came 
upon  a  society  there,  and  when  the  fleet  visited  Brazil, 
he  found  the  officers  of  the  union  there  and  reported 
his  find  in  Trinidad.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  how  many  so¬ 
cieties  there  are  on  the  island.  “A  good  many,”  is  the 
way  the  report  puts  it. 

Miss  Grace  D.  Salter,  a  Christian  Endeavor  Life-Work 
Recruit,  who  is  a  missionary  in  La  Pique,  San  Fernando, 
Tii  .idad,  writes  enthusiastically  of  the  society  in  the 
Canadian  Bresbyterian  mission  there.  She  says:  “I 
should  say  there  are  about  fifteen  active  societies  in 
Trinidad.  In  San  Fernando  the  Susamacher  Christian 
Endeavor  society  is  one  to  be  proud  of.  It  has  about 
seventy-five  members.  The  meetings  never  lack  in  in¬ 
terest,  and  when  they  are  thrown  open  for  members  to 
take  part,  it  is  often  hard  to  bring  them  to  a  close,  there 
are  so  many  desiring  to  take  part.” 


40 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Miss  Salter  has  addressed  school-teachers  and  urged 
the  organization  of  Christian  Endeavor  societies  in  many 
districts.  One  society  has  been  formed  as  a  result  of  this 
talk. 

Trinidad  Endeavorers  are  fighting  for  prohibition  and 
doing  good  work  in  many  other  directions. 


Africa 

Christian  Endeavor  has  taken  firm  root  in  the  missions 
of  Africa.  The  organization  was  brought  to  South 
Africa  by  an  American  woman,  who  went  there  to  teach 
in  the  large  boarding-schools;  and  the  girls,  as  they  grad¬ 
uated  from  these  schools  and  went  to  their  home  places, 
started  Christian  Endeavor  societies  there. 

The  South  African  union  was  inaugurated  in  1897  with 
the  sainted  Dr.  Andrew  Murray  as  president.  The  follow¬ 
ing  year,  scattered  societies  came  together  for  their  first 
convention,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  a  train  was  run  carrying  delegates  to  a  religious 
convention,  the  passengers,  of  course,  being  entirely  En¬ 
deavorers. 

There  are  two  Christian  Endeavor  unions  in  South 
Africa,  one  among  the  Boers  and  one  among  the  British. 
One  of  the  problems  these  unions  have  to  face  is  the 
rapid  growth  of  Mohammedanism  among  the  native 
peoples. 

Some  of  the  best  societies  in  Africa  are  to  be  found 
in  Egypt  in  the  missions  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  from  the  start  has  featured  young  people’s 
work.  In  Cairo  there  are  societies  for  men  alone,  and 
they  attract  to  their  membership  some  of  the  best  minds 
of  the  young  people  of  the  community.  The  largest  soci¬ 
ety  in  the  world  is  found  in  Africa.  It  is  in  the  Disciples 
church  in  Bolenge,  on  the  Congo,  and  numbers  many  hun¬ 
dreds  of  members,  in  fact,  every  member  of  the  church  is 
an  Endeavorer  and  no  Endeavorers  in  the  world  strive  to 
live  more  closely  to  the  pledge  than  do  these  active  Afri¬ 
cans,  who  only  a  few  years  ago  were  heathen,  and  some 
of  whom  were  cannibals. 

India 

There  are  more  than  2,000  societies  in  India.  For  many 
years  the  field-secretary  there  was  Rev.  Herbert  Halli- 
well,  a  British  minister,  who  has  returned  to  London  as 
general-secretary  of  the  British  national  union. 

In  India  Christian  Endeavor  is  found  in  most  of  the 
missions,  and  the  officers  of  the  national  union  have  been 
and  are  some  of  the  strongest  missionaries  on  the  field. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


41 


It  has  long  been  recognized  that  India  needs  Christian 
Endeavor  in  a  special  way,  since  it  offers  the  native 
Christians  exactly  the  opportunity  for  service  that  they 
need  for  the  development  of  their  spiritual  life. 

Christian  Endeavor  has  finely  adapted  itself  in  India 
to  the  needs  of  the  situation.  The  work  that  the  societies 
do  grows  out  of  the  needs  of  the  people.  Besides  the 
ordinary  committees  all  sorts  of  special  committees  have 
been  formed,  such  as  the  toe-nail  committee,  whose  mem¬ 
bers  keep  the  toe-nails  of  Juniors  in  order.  In  one  com¬ 
munity  the  society  acted  in  place  of  a  church  bell.  When 
the  hour  for  the  Sunday  church  service  arrived,  the  En- 


A  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  STREET  MEETING  IN  JAPAN. 

Every  One  in  This  Group  of  Endeavorers  is  Wearing  the  Monogram 

of  the  Society. 


deavorers  marched  singing  through  the  streets  and 
stopped  at  the  homes  of  church-members,  telling  them 
that  it  was  time  to  go  church.  Evangelistic  work  is  in 
great  favor.  Groups  of  Endeavorers  go  out  from  many 
societies  to  market-place  and  nearby  village  and  tell  the 
story  of  Jesus.  It  is  common  for  Endeavorers  to  conduct 
village  Sunday  schools,  sometimes  under  the  shade  of  a 
spreading  tree  on  the  village  green. 

The  conventions  are  largely  attended  and  parades  are 
a  feature  which  stir  the  life  of  the  city.  Often  groups  of 
Endeavorers  from  distant  villages  walk  two  or  three  days’ 


42 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


journey  to  such  a  convention,  stopping  in  the  villages 
through  which  they  pass  that  they  may  tell  the  people 
the  story  of  the  cross. 

Some  of  the  provincial  Christian  Endeavor  unions  have 
native  secretaries  and  many  of  the  missions  support  na¬ 
tive  workers  who  visit  the  Endeavor  societies  in  their 
missions.  Recently  came  the  report  of  the  appointment 
of  such  a  secretary  to  work  on  the  Malabar  Coast  in  West 
Madras.  Societies  were  recently  formed  in  an  important 
mission  there,  and  a  fine  work  has  been  begun. 


RAPID  TRANSIT  IN  INDIA. 

A  Christian  Endeavor 'Missionary  on  His  Travels. 


In  South  India  alone  there  are  28,000  Endeavorers,  or 
2,000  more  than  in  1917.  These  Endeavorers  have  a 
Christian  Endeavor  almanac  which  they  use  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  topics. 

In  Cawnpore  there  is  a  “Press  Forward’’  branch  of 
Christian  Endeavor  which  gives  concerts,  holds  sales,  and 
does  a  lot  of  philanthropic  work.  It  has  greatly  helped 
the  Children’s  Aid  Society  and  a  home  for  blind  soldiers. 
Another  achievement  was  the  securing  of  1,000  rupees 
to  establish  a  scholarship  in  a  girls’  school  in  the  city, 
and  yet  another  effort  was  to  find  funds  to  enable  Anglo- 
Indians  or  Europeans  to  secure  medical  aid  in  hospital. 

Endeavorers  have  made  nursing  the  sick  their  task  in 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


43 


many  cases,  and  in  epidemics  they  have  sometimes  been 
the  only  ones  who  would  venture  into  stricken  homes. 

One  of  the  most  touching  gifts  that  came  for  starving 
boys  and  girls  in  Europe  came  from  a  Junior  society  in 
East  Bengal.  These  Indian  Juniors  each  saved  a  handful 
of  rice  each  day  from  their  meals,  grew  and  sold  vege¬ 
tables,  kept  hens  and  ducks,  selling  the  eggs,  collected 
old  paper  and  sold  it,  and  cleaned  the  church  themselves 
instead  of  employing  a  sweeper,  in  order  that  they  might 
earn  money  to  send  to  the  needy. 

An  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  work  may  be  had  from 
a  brief  account  of  the  labors  of  Mr.  Titus,  who  has  charge 
of  Christian  Endeavor  work  in  the  Malayalam  Mission. 
Mr.  Titus  is  a  native  Indian,  and  the  field  of  his  labors 
contains  more  than  one  hundred  churches  and  30,000 
Christians.  Some  of  the  churches  are  very  small,  but 
others  have  as  many  as  a  thousand  members.  In  each 
congregation  there  are  usually  a  Christian  Endeavor  so¬ 
ciety  for  men,  one  for  women,  and  one  for  boys  and  girls, 
especially  in  the  larger  churches.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
Endeavorers  are  usually  the  live  Christians  in  the  con¬ 
gregations.  They  are  found  in  the  Sunday  schools  as 
teachers  or  scholars,  and  in  every  good  work  they  may  be 
depended  upon. 

Many  of  the  churches  lie  off  the  main  road,  and  the 
secretary  has  a  good  deal  of  walking  to  do  to  reach  them. 
Rallies  are  frequently  held  and  people  will  walk  many  miles 
to  attend  the  meetings.  One  remarkable  feature  is  the 
fine  way  the  women  take  part  in  the  meetings,  quite  an 
unusual  thing  in  India. 

At  a  convention  in  Vellore  recently,  it  was  stated  that 
the  dreams  of  a  decade  ago  have  all  been  realized.  In 
that  time  the  societies  have  grown  from  600  to  1,200,  and 
the  membership  has  also  increased  from  18,000  to  36,000. 
At  one  of  the  meetings  the  audience  numbered  more  than 
3,000  persons,  many  of  them  Mohammedans. 

There  are  many  societies  in  boarding  and  other  schools, 
and  societies  in  industrial  centres  find  ample  scope  for 
their  zeal. 

Burma 

Endeavorers  in  Burma  are  quite  numerous,  societies 
being  found  in  the  missions  there.  The  members  of  the 
societies  have  the  evangelistic  mind  and  often  go  forth 
to  preach  the  gospel.  One  representative  of  these  Bur¬ 
mese  Endeavorers  was  at  the  World’s  Co'^vention  in  New 
York  and  brought  a  greeting  from  his  fellow  countrymen. 
“There  are  hundreds  of  Endeavorers  in  Burma,”  he  said, 
“and  the  movement  has  meant  a  lot  to  the  people  and 
has  been  a  benefit  to  the  church.” 


44 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Siam 

Missions  in  Siam  use  Christian  Endeavor  for  their 
young  people,  just  as  in  India.  In  a  society  in  Petcha- 
buri  all  the  girls  have  pledged  themselves  to  lead  som.e 
one  to  Christ  within  a  year.  A  prayer-list  is  kept  and 
opposite  each  member’s  name  is  written  the  name  of  a 
friend  whom  she  is  to  try  to  win. 

This  society  held  a  temperance  meeting  some  time  ago. 
In  Siam  temperance  means  far  more  than  it  ever  meant 
in  America  even  in  the  halcyon  days  of  John  Barleycorn. 
Siamese  Christians  have  to  fight  not  only  the  evils  of  dis¬ 
tilled  liquor,  but  also  “pretty  poppies”  in  the  guise  of 
opium,  and  the  fruit  of  the  betel  tree,  and  Indian  hemp 
as  well. 

To  sign  a  temperance  pledge  in  Siam  means  a  clean 
sweep,  and  at  this  meeting,  as  each  boy  signed,  his  com¬ 
rades  cheered  and  sang,  “Have  courage,  my  boy,  to  say, 
‘No’.”  The  girls  crocheted  badges  of  different  colors,  each 
color  standing  for  one  of  the  enemy  evils,  for  the  boys  to 
wear. 

These  Endeavorers  are  going  from  school  back  to  their 
home  towns  to  carry  with  them  the  lessons  and  the  meth¬ 
ods  of  Christian  Endeavor. 

China 

There  are  more  than  1,200  societies  with  probably  60,000 
members  in  China,  where  the  missionaries  have  found 
that  Christian  Endeavor  is  exactly  the  kind  of  organiza¬ 
tion  that  is  needed  to  develop  the  life  of  the  church. 
China  must  be  saved  by  native  Christians,  and  if  these 
Christians  are  to  work  for  Christ  they  must  be  trained 
for  service.  Christian  Endeavor  is  training  them  and 
proving  a  most  effective  handmaid  of  the  church. 

In  a  great  many  churches  it  is  the  Christian  Endeavor 
topic  that  furnishes  the  basis  of  through-the-week  study 
on  the  part  of  the  Endeavorers.  Evangelistic  meetings  are 
held  by  Christian  Endeavor  groups  and  tract-distribution 
is  a  common  form  of  service. 

Christian  Endeavor  leaders  have  translated  a  large  part 
of  the  New  Testament  into  the  new  Chinese  script  which 
may  easily  be  learned  by  the  unlettered,  and  Endeavorers 
are  learning  it  that  they  may  be  able  to  read  the  word 
of  God  for  themselves.  Not  only  so,  but  those  that  have 
learned  the  new  script  are  anxious  to  teach  others,  and 
reading-classes  are  formed  with  Endeavorers  as  teachers. 
Christian  E’^deavor  helps  for  the  topics  are  printed  in  this 
script,  and  invaluable  helps  are  thus  made  available  not 
only  for  Endeavorers,  but  also  for  many  native  preachers 
who  use  them  for  their  sermons. 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


45 


HEADQUARTERS  IN  CHINA. 

Rev.  Edgar  E.  Strother,  General  Secretary  for  Christian  Endeavor  in 
China,  and  Mr.  C.  Y.  Lee,  outside  the  Christian  Endeavor 

Office  in  Shanghai. 


China  has  two  Christian  Endeavor  secretaries,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Edgar  E.  Strother,  whose  self-sacrifici'^g  work  is 
praised  by  missionaries  of  all  denominations.  These  work¬ 
ers  have  labored  on  a  small  salary  made  smaller  by  ad¬ 
verse  exchange  conditions.  They  have  travelled  on  third- 
class  tickets  and  have  lived  as  the  Chinese  live,  eating 
Chinese  food  like  the  natives.  They  arrived  in  America 
in  time  for  the  World’s  Christian  Endeavor  Convention  in 
New  York  in  July,  1921,  to  enjoy  a  brief  furlough  in  this 
country  before  returning  to  their  field. 

The  whole  of  China,  a  country  with  nearly  one-fourth 
of  the  population  of  the  globe  within  its  far-flung  borders, 
is  open  to  Christian  Endeavor.  The  missionaries  want  it. 
The  churches  want  it.  The  Chinese  themselves  want  it. 
A  few  thousand  dollars  spent  for  native  secretaries  would 
yield  results  beyond  the  dreams  of  a  few  years  ago.  To 
relieve  distress  and  famine  America  has  done  much  for 
China,  but  the  country  stretches  forth  pleading  hands  ask¬ 
ing  for  spiritual  help.  Can  we  turn  away  from  her  plead¬ 
ing?  Surely  we  dare  not  pass  by  on  the  other  side. 

To  show  what  Christian  Endeavor  means  to  mission¬ 
aries  on  the  field  we  quote  a  testimony  from  South  China: 
“Before  the  advent  of  Christian  Endeavo'^  we  had  no 
definite  plan  either  for  securing  systematic  Bible-study  for 
the  rank  and  file  of  converts,  or  for  getting  any  consid¬ 
erable  number  of  them  to  do  regular  Christian  work.  One 


46 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


of  the  first  benefits  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement 
was  to  get  together  the  earnest  spirits  of  the  churches 
for  a  definite  purpose  in  connection  with  their  Christian 
profession,  and  at  fixed  and  frequent  intervals. 


A  SOCIETY  IN  CHINA. 

This  Society  Is  in  Hoochow.  The  Old  Gentlemen  with  the  Beard  waa 
Baptized  when  He  was  Seventy-five  Years  Old,  and  He  is  the 
Youngest  Member  of  the  Society. 


“The  regular  opportunity  for  united  prayer,  more  sim¬ 
ple  and  informal,  has  been  a  great  boon,  and  has  trans¬ 
formed  all  the  prayer  meetings  in  many  of  our  churches. 
The  evangelistic  spirit  has  also  been  kindled  and  nurtured 
in  our  Christian  Endeavor  societies.  Cottage  meetings  are 
held  on  an  average  five  evenings  each  week,  generally 
in  the  homes  or  shops  of  members.  The  previously  exist¬ 
ing  desire  of  almost  all  to  win  their  relatives  and  friends 
for  Christ  has  been  notably  fostered  by  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  and  its  methods.” 

General-Secretary  'Strother  states  that  all  the  provinces 
in  China  are  open  to  Christian  Endeavor.  It  is  simply  a 
question  of  supporting  workers.  There  are  native  Chris¬ 
tians  eager  to  go,  ready  to  make  large  sacrifices,  too. 
China  is  a  tremendous  challege  to  Christian  Endeavor,  a 
land  of  need  and  opportunity. 

Just  a  glimpse  of  what  even  a  Junior  society  may  do  in 
China.  This  one  is  in  Canton  and  it  has  opened  a  house 
for  social  service.  Two  young  men  have  volunteered  for 


AROUND  THE  WORLD 


47 


the  work.  The  house  has  four  rooms.  One  room  is  fur¬ 
nished  as  a  reading-room;  two  rooms  are  furnished  as 
game-rooms.  It  will  be  opened  in  the  afternoons  for 
women  and  for  men  in  the  evenings.  The  women  are 
organized  into  sewing-classes  and  work  for  the  hospital. 

Japan 

In  the  past  few  years  Christian  Endeavor  in  Japan  has 
suffered  from  the  fact  that  the  union  has  no  permanent 
field-secretary.  The  native  pastors  have  done  a  good  deal  of 
Christian  Endeavor  work,  and  Mr.  Sawaya,  the  former 
field-secretary,  who  is  now  at  work  in  a  church,  also  gives 
much  time  to  Christian  Endeavor. 


A  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  RALLY  IN  JAPAN. 

A  GrouD  of  Children  Listening:  to  an  Address  by  Mr.  Sawaya.  a 
former  Field-Secretary  in  Japan. 


Under  these  circumstances  the  societies  are  only  hold¬ 
ing  their  own.  They  are  found  in  many  churches,  schools, 
boarding-schools,  and  colleges,  and  the  members  are  evan¬ 
gelistic  in  spirit,  and  seek  to  win  their  comrades  to  Christ. 
From  the  very  first  Japanese  Endeavor  has  been  eager 
to  serve  the  Master,  finding  many  opportunities  for  Chris¬ 
tian  work  in  Sunday  school  and  elsewhere.  One  of  the 
best  tributes  to  the  effectiveness  of  its  work  is  the  fact 
that  the  Buddhists  have  copied  its  methods  and  have 
young  people’s  societies  of  Buddhist  Endeavor. 


48 


CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 


Korea 

Up  to  the  present  political  disturbances  have  made  diffi¬ 
cult  the  formation  of  Christian  Endeavor  societies  in 
Korea.  The  hand  of  Japan  has  been  heavy  on  the  country. 
Yet  in  spite  of  all,  Christian  Endeavor  has  already  taken 
root  and  is  flourishing.  Rev.  J.  W.  Anderson,  of  Andong, 
Korea,  tells  the  story  of  his  society.  It  began  among  the 
young  people,  of  course,  but  the  fame  of  it  spread  until 
the  older  people  began  to  come  too,  to  hear  the  young 
people  testify.  This  missionary  tried  night  schools,  clubs, 
a  debating-society,  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  a  music  club,  and  so 
on,  but  nothing  met  the  need,  he  says,  like  Christian  En¬ 
deavor. 

In  less  than  two  months  eight  or  ten  societies  were 
organized  in  Mr.  Anderson’s  territory,  and  one  of  their 
first  moves  was  to  have  a  county  convention. 

We  all  know  how  Korea  welcomed  the  gospel  in  a  mar¬ 
vellous  way,  and  few  have  been  untouched  with  the  en¬ 
thusiasm  of  these  people  to  learn  more  about  God  and 
His  Son.  This  same  enthusiasm  will  run  through  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  channels  if  it  is  given  a  chance.  Mr.  An¬ 
derson  says  that  what  is  needed  is  money  to  send  forth 
Christian  Endeavor  field-workers.  With  $500,  he  states, 
five  hundred  new  societies  can  be  formed.  A  dollar  a  isoci- 
ety!  The  country  is  ripe  for  a  move  like  this.  Such  a 
field  is  a  rare  challenge  to  Christian  Endeavor. 


